


Dangerously Alluring

by OmACAgee



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Hot Mermaids, Major Character Injury, Sirens, Violence, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-08-11 09:23:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 103,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7885522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmACAgee/pseuds/OmACAgee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every girl as they were younger while watching Aquamarine wanted to grow up and become a mermaid (or at least any normal girl did) ;) They're beautiful with long hair and angelic voices and all around something majestic.<br/>That goes the same for Chloe Beale, Stacie Conrad and Aubrey Posen.<br/>So, combining those two things equals that one Mermaid Bechloe fic that nobody has ever written! :) </p><p>Beca Mitchell and her two best friends, Jesse and Luke absolutely adored everything about the ocean. Will their love soon shift to someone else when they meet three delightful, gorgeous, young women who also happen to be the most dangerous predators roaming the pacific sea? Or will they be unable to break through the deadly curse so many innocent souls have fallen for?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Hey man stop the boat!" A young man, roughly around his early twenties, yelled at his brother who was operating the wheel.

"What is it Jay?" he asked as the boat was completely stopped, just before reaching the shore of the newly discovered island the brothers came upon.

The island was silent and the only noise being heard was the 'clanking' of the boat's engine and the soft waves brushing against the three, large stones placed in the ocean.

"Wow. This place is beautiful." The older boy hopped down from the small boat, having his bare feet touch the warm, crystallized sand. His feet melted into the floor due to the softness of the sand. It was roughly hot because of the temperature but it was tolerable. The reflection of the sun hitting the clear, blue water was almost blinding to the eyes.

"Paul," The older brother cupped the top of eyes eyes, creating a visor while he turned around to look at the boat. "You coming?" he asked as he scrunched his face, closing his eyes from the sun's powerful rays.

Paul casted the anchor into the water before walking down to his brother. He jumped off and also took in the softness of the gravel. "Wow. It feels like I'm walking on clouds," Paul said in awe as he bent down to grab a handful of sand. He released the grip of the gravel, letting it gently slip through the crack of his fingers.

"I guess the rumors Dad heard about this island were true when they said this place was jaw dropping." The older brother grabbed his backpack from the boat and pulled out his camera. "I just wish he was here to finally experience it with us." The brother titled his head down, frowning at his device.

On the screen, was a picture of him and Paul with their father on their very first boating trip. Their father was a traveler of the sea, always discovering new land and new creatures that came with it. His main goal was to finally walk foot and discover the secret island of Santa Cruz. Legends said that no one was able to come across this majestic place and some believed that it was only just a mirage. Paul's and Jay's father wanted to be the first man to experience this unknown island but, passed away before he could get the chance. He was actually sailing that night of his death, looking for the island, when suddenly a huge storm appeared causing huge waves to crash into his boat. Not being able to escape the thrashing waves, his boat was destroyed and his body was never to be found. The boys believed that he was still out there when detectives and cops couldn't find any clues regarding their father's whereabouts. It wasn't until cops found his boat, washed up on a random shore, torn to bits, when they lost hope of him still being alive.

Taken under their father's wing, the boys studied and researched all about mysterious island, hoping they would be able to find it one day for their father.

"Hey," Paul placed a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. "He would be proud of us right now. You found this place all yourself and look," he gestured his arm around the entire land. Jay looked up from the camera and to the direction where Paul held out his arm. "We finally made it! The place is real and we are the first people ever to walk it!"

Jay's frown curved into a faint smile at his younger brother's words. "You're right." Because he was. He was able to conquer his father's dreams and experience it with his brother. He couldn't ask for anything more.

"That's it." Paul smiled.

Jay returned the smile and lifted up his camera. "Let's go get some shots."

The duo began to venture out into the island to capture some shots so they could bring them back into town. It made sense why people thought this place could be a mirage. The cliffs were tall, and a dark, matte,grey with green vines draping from the points. Rocks surrounding the shore shined from the water and looked like dark diamonds. There were beautiful shells placed all over the sand and strips of seaweed that came from the ocean floor. It was truly an astoning sight.

"Man this island is a gigantic circle." Paul huffed as they circled the island multiple times. If they would've known that the rocks were going to be enormous, they would've brought climbing supplies because there was no way to get to the top without them.

Jay scratched his head while trying to think of a way to get around this obstacle. Not being able to think of anything, he sighed in frustration. "Well, at least we know where this place is. We can always come back when we have the right supplies."

"Good idea. Take some shots before we sail out."

Jay readied his camera and held it to his eye. Pointing it to the three rocks placed in the middle of the ocean, he took the picture.

_***Click*** _

Releasing a satisfied sigh, he looked down at his camera to make sure it was a good shot. The rocks were focused around the water and the sun in the background gave the image a vibrant glare. The scenery was amazing but something strange caught his eye. He quirked up his eyebrow and scrunched his face when he saw the picture he recently captured.

"What is that?" he mumbled to himself as he tried to zoom in on the photo. The image showed the three stones he was trying to take a picture of but also, it featured a young women with bright red hair. She was sitting on one of the three rocks. The redhead was blurry in the image but there was something attached to her body that wasn't legs. It almost looked like a large tentacle you'd see on a squid or something.

" _Come... to…... me…."_

Jay quickly snapped his head up at the sudden echo he heard. It was soft and angelic but, no one was there; especially on the rock where the redhead was seen in the photo.

" _Come to me,"_ The voice sounded closer than it was before and had more of an affect towards the young boy. The fragile words were calming and made him feel safe. He glanced around the island again and saw no person behind the sweet, melodic voice.

Things were starting to get a little weird.

"Paul?" he called out, noticing that his brother was gone. Starting to walk back to the boat, he was stopped by his brother, kneeling on the brim of the shore, staring into the ocean.

"Paul!" he yelled hoping to be able to get his attention. His brother didn't respond as he was still frozen, gazing into the cerulean blue water.

Jay walked over to where his brother was kneeling since, he was unable to get his attention from yelling. "Hey Paul?" He tried to snap his fingers in front of his face to release him from his daze but only failed. "What are you staring a-" His sentence was cut off by a flash of red hair that emerged from underneath the ocean's water. She crossed her arms above a rock placed in the water and rested her chin on top.

It had to be the woman from the photo.

The mysterious woman moved from her position and stood up straight so the two boys could see her bare torso. She had blazing, long red hair that flowed past her shoulders, covering her nude chest. Her skin was a glistening pale that shined in the sun, resembling a bunch of tiny diamonds. Her toned stomach was framed perfectly under her hair as droplets of water rolled down each crevice.

"And who do I have the pleasure of meeting today?" Her tone was radiant as she smiled at the brothers. She was the voice of the girl Jay heard before.

"You're beautiful," Paul blurted out, not even answering the beautiful woman's question.

The girl smiled, "are you my jolly sailor bold?"

The boys once again didn't answer but stared into the eyes of the girl's. Something about the blueness that covered her orbits was mesmerizing. You could get lost in them and never find your way out.

She floated closer to the brothers and started to sing.

 _My heart is pierced by Cupid_  
_I disdain all glittering gold_  
_There is nothing can console me_  
_But my Jolly sailor bold_

The lyrics serenaded the boys, making their bodies feel like they were voice was astoning and hypnotizing and Paul found that he was unable to move even if he wanted to. All of the sounds made by the island, slowly faded away and the only thing left to hear was the soothing voice of this mystery women.

 _His hair it hangs in ringlets_  
_His eyes as black as coal_  
_My happiness attend him_  
_Wherever he may go_

Two amazingly, stunning women; a blonde and a brunette, appeared from under the water next to the redhead and joined the song currently being sung. The sky started to shift from clear, blue skies to dark, and stormy ones. Waves were starting to pick up around the water and the wind was becoming stronger. The girls didn't seem to react to the sudden weather change since they continued to sing.

 _From tower hill to blackwall_  
_I'll wander weep and moan_  
_All for my jolly sailor_  
_Until he sails home_

The harmonizing was intoxicating coming from the girls and it left their bodies numb.

Jay felt like he had to get closer. It was like seeing a painting in a museum that says 'Do Not Touch' but you touch it anyways. He wanted to touch these girls and something or someone was binding them together, creating this strange force.

Paul was the first break as he slowly got up and made his way into the water; not even flinching when the cold water touched his stomach.

Jay followed shortly after when he noticed his brother was shredding the water in front of the three girls. The older brother made his way to the middle where the girls were singing, still in a trance from their voices.

_My heart is pierced by Cupid  
I disdain all glittering gold_

The brunette and the blonde swam their way over to the two boys leaving the redhead to watch, and brushed their hands on their chilled cheeks. The cold touch ran shivers up and down their spines and made them lose their breath. After Jay felt something slimy brush against his leg, he looked down into the newly dark water to see a long, dazzling tail attached to the blonde's torso. His head was aggressively snapped up by the blonde's hands to make eye contact between the two. Her eyes were a light shade of white with a silver outlining around the pupils. The blonde moved her face in closer to the stunned boy, reaching his ear and sung," _There is nothing can console me but my Jolly sailor bold,"_ before opening her mouth, flaunting a sharp set of fangs.

Jay and his brother were left paralyzed as the two girls dug their teeth into the side of their necks.

A sinister laugh slipped from the redhead as she watched the brother's lives slip out from under them and piercing screams echoed throughout the island.

The screams became muzzled are their lifeless bodies were dragged under the darkened water. The sky changed to blue again and the waves settled down.

The three girls were gone and nothing was in the water.

It was deserted once again and the only sounds left were the ghoulish giggles of the mysterious girls that hid beneath the ocean water.

_**1 month later** _

Santa Cruz was one of Beca's favorite places and that wasn't because she was born there and had no other choice but to like it.

It was because the weather was always beautiful and the sun always beamed. She was surprised that after twenty one years of living here, that her skin would finally be able to tolerate the sun without getting a third degree burn. She was finally able to say she was kinda tan and was able to fit that 'Ideal California Girl' look.

Another reason why she loved it here was because she had her two best friends; Jesse and Luke. You probably think why she doesn't have any girls as friends but honestly, she didn't relate to any of them. She enjoyed long-boarding, surfing, music and hanging out with dudes. She could burp the alphabet and had a mouth as a sailor and just like her mom would say, "That isn't very lady like Beca."

The two boys have been the closest thing she had to family. Losing her dad because of the divorce and having her mom remarry some douchebag guy; to only be taken around the world, leaving her only daughter alone to live with her new husband's son wasn't what Beca signed up for. Yes that's right.

Jesse was Beca's stepbrother. There wasn't much of an age difference, but Jesse was a year younger and could definitely tell by his immaturity.

If she is being honest, she hated Jesse when she first met him at the age of thirteen. He would constantly bug her about watching movies and was all around to giddy for Beca's liking. She was moody and laid back. Honestly she was kind of a bitch.

It did only take roughly around three months for the two siblings to get use to each other. They quickly bonded over music and surfing. It amazed Beca how much the boy knew about music and how talented he was in the water.

After school, Beca would meet up with Jesse and Luke; who was Jesse's best friend, and ride the waves together until the sunset. Sometimes they would just float on their boards, eating ice cream that they would steal from the whacky ice cream man and get chased until the man was faint due to the fatigueness in his body.

She loved those two weirdos.

_***Ring Ring*** _

Beca wiped her hands on her thighs to get rid of the water before reaching in her armband for her cellphone. Before you think she is crazy for going into the ocean with her cell, it had on a water proof case so she could listen to music when she surfed. Thinking outside of the box people.

"Hey Jes," she answered, brushing the wet strands of hair away from her face.

" _Becs, are you riding?"_

"No." Beca positioned herself on her board and started kicking back to shore. She wasn't that far out, but was far enough to catch some gnarly waves. "Well I was but I'm done now. Whats up?"

" _Luke and I were just watching the news. Some crazy shit just happened with the Nelson brothers. You coming home?"_

"Oh shit, okay. I'm coming back now."

" _Alright see you in a bit."_

**_*Click*_ **

Beca hung up and flipped to her stomach. She was able to paddle faster this way since she didn't know what Jesse meant by something happening to the Nelson brothers. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't good since it was already on the news.

Beca kicked it into gear and reached the shore, out of breath and her leg muscles cramping. She was in great shape since she did a lot of physical activities but she was also 5'2 and no 5'2 girl should ever swim that fast in the ocean without being winded by the end of it.

Throwing a towel around her waist and pinning her hair up into a messy bun, she threw her board into the trunk of her jeep and drove back to her beach house.

* * *

Traffic was extra bad that night that it practically took Beca an hour to get home when usually it took her around fifteen to twenty minutes. She hopped out of her jeep and jiggled her set of keys to find the right one.

She took her house key out and stuck it in the keyhole, opening the door to a silent house. "Jes, I'm home!"

"Living room!"

Beca followed the voice to the living room and was greeted with a muscular blonde man and a goofy brunette circled around the television. She dropped her bags at the stairs before joining them at the TV.

"You guys close enough?" Beca asked as she sat down on the love sac behind the two boys.

"Listen Becky," Luke responded and hit the play button on the remote.

" _As you may have heard that nineteen year old Jay Nelson and his younger brother Paul were reported missing a month ago, April 25th. Reporters and officials are still seeking the whereabouts of the two boys, but unsuspectedly came across digital device on the shore of Santa Cruz-a camera reported to have Jay's name carved into the side and initials of famous sailor, Jeffrey Nelson. There was nothing more as far as clues other than an electronic camera which no longer seemed to work. If any of you hear or see anything regarding the brothers, contact the police. This is Ryan signing off with SBS News_."

Luke paused the TV again and both boys turned to look around at the tiny brunette. She really didn't understand why they were so worried about showing her since she knew the boys went missing already. The Nelson brothers attended Luke and Jesse's college, but weren't really close to the two. Every once in awhile, they would have lunch or something but they were never best friends-aquatintes at best. The brothers were so focused on sailing and crazy geography and traveling that it kinda bored Jesse and Luke.

"They found a camera on the beach, but look at this." Jesse pulled up a worn down backpack from behind him that smelt like mold, wet dog, and salt water. "I found this-this morning when I went for a run on shore. I was alone so it couldn’t have been anybody’s."

Beca sat up from the bean bag, now hundred percent focused on the rundown item. "Who's is it?"

Jesse turned the backpack counter clockwise and flashed the brunette the label. "It is Jay's." Beca's mouth gaped open at the item now placed onto the coffee table. Where could they be?

"I opened it up and found nothing but tin can full of rotten food, some clothes and water but.." He unzipped the bag and reached his hand in. "I found this."

It was a highly annotated map of Santa Cruz and the Pacific ocean. There were notes written all over and specific areas on the map were highlighted in bright colors. Beca was surprised that the map still looked readable since it clearly was soaked in the ocean.

She reached over and gently took the map from Jesse's hands and noticed there were a few stenciled drawings attached to it. One of them, was a beautifully detailed image of an island, surround by mountains for rocks and the other was a drawing of three stones, placed perfectly in the middle of the sea. There was a highlighted trail from the city of Santa Cruz, all the way to a placed 'x' in the middle of the ocean.

Beca was confused. Why was Jesse and Luke showing her all of this?

"I think that's where they are. They could still be alive," Luke mumbled quietly and Beca removed her eyes from the map, looking at the British blonde boy with a puzzled glare.

"Beca, we need to find them."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super stoked that you guys are interested in this story!  
> It's going to be different and one roller coaster of a ride but hell, I'm excited for it!  
> Shorter chapter (SORRY) but I wanted to focus on Jesse's and Beca's relationship.  
> Enjoy!  
> (I DO NOT OWN PITCH PERFECT) Just the plot duh.

"You're joking right?"

Oh how Beca wished her brother was actually joking but looking at him right now, when he had that look on his face that resembled that he was either A; going to blow or B; wanted to slap Beca for even thinking that he was joking, showed hundred percent seriousness. Even Luke seemed down for the plan and usually, he never agreed with Jesse because his plans were usually immature and idiotic.

"Dead serious." Jesse quickly moved to plop down on the bean bag with his sister. He hovered his chin over her shoulder to get a good view at the map. "Wherever they went, it must've be hidden or something." He pointed his finger on the map where the 'x' was placed. "But I remember them talking about it in class one day. Some mysterious bullshit or something."

"W-what? H-ow?" Beca was literally speechless.

Before Beca could ask the millions of questions running through her brain, Jess cut her off.

"We could use my dad's super fancy speed boat and looking at the map, it would only take at least….. three to four hours on sea unless we got lost in the process." Beca scoffed at Jesse and returned her gaze on the map she was holding. " We could end up finding Jay and Paul but even if we don't, it be pretty legit to find some unknown island."

"Yeah Becky," Luke chipped into the conversation. "There's even rumors about the Santa Cruz islands. Legends say that, whoever steps foot on the land, never makes it back alive." Both Jesse's and Beca's eyes gaped open. "That's why there has only been assumptions about this place."

Why the Hell was getting killed on some unknown island so appealing to this dingbats? Of course they wanted to travel to some hidden, dangerous island where they could end up getting killed by God knows what. What did Luke even mean when he said they didn't make it back alive?

"And why don't they ever return?" Beca quickly asked, not really feeling safe going to a island that had death written all over it.

"Well I don't know exact but," Luke took a seat on the couch and released a sigh, "-stories were told about dangerous predators guarding all over the island. Some believed they were protecting treasure; some believed that it was their home. These creatures I guess were hideous, and if you dared to make eye contact with them, your flesh would slowly start to eat away; like some sort of acid was being poured all over your skin. It would be an extremely painful and slow death. They'd take the remaining bones and feed off of them like chopped celery."

Okay, that's it.

" _Fuck_ no." Beca slammed the map down and swiftly stood up. The boy's watched her pace around the living room for what seems like hours. "And you want to go to this place?! Even after what you just said Luke?! I'm sorry but I like my life and I love the skin on my body even more. I'd like to avoid having my bones become the next toothpicks for these creatures, thank you very much!"

"Oh my God." The loud clapping of Jesse's hands against his thighs made Beca wince. She also didn't appreciate the smirk curving up on his lips as he watched Beca pace. "Is the big bad Beca Mitchell scared?"

Beca glared at her brother who was currently holding back a fit of giggles and Beca wanted to smack him in the back of the head. She wasn't scared, she just didn't want to go; especially after hearing those stories Luke presented to them. Anyone with common sense would know this plan was an absolute terrible idea.

And okay,

Maybe she was _a little_ scared.

"Fuck off Jesse. I'm not scared."

"Then that's it. We are going and we are going to find this island so we can become rich and stuff!"

Jesse jumped off of the couch and gave Luke an excited high-five. They were going back and forth between routes and shortcuts they could take through the ocean, leaving Beca in the dust; like she wasn't even in the room.

She didn't enjoy the idea of going alone to this place. For fuck sakes, it could be some radioactive cite that's under quarantine with cannibalistic zombies roaming the area.

Okay, maybe not that extreme but still.

The place was hidden and maybe it was hidden for a reason. There was something there that didn't want to be seen and definitely didn't want others to know about it.

"And what are we going to do if we see one of these mutant things? I'm 5'2, Jesse." Beca scrunched her face in thought as she tried to think of something Jesse could contribute to the group "You might as well be bait so really, the only person here that'd give us a slight chance of making it out alive would be muscle head over there." Luke winked at Beca's compliment.

"Beca really? You believe in monsters now?" Beca dramatically rolled her eyes at her brother. He made it sound so much worse than it actually was. Like she believed in the tooth fairy or something. He huffed in reply. "Some _badass_ you are."

Beca tried to think of a comeback but was left with her mouth gaped and nothing coming out. Soon after realizing that she was no way going to win this argument between her friends, she rolled her eyes to the ceiling, dumping a loud exhale that puffed out her cheeks. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she mumbled quietly to herself and retracted her head, making her way over to the boys huddled around the map.

This was going to be something else.

* * *

After many complaints and groans from a tiny brunette, the group decided to departure early next morning. Beca loved her sleep and for it to get interrupted by some fucking boat trip made her want to scoop her eyeballs out with a spoon.

Beca and the boys would go to Jesse's dad's boat house to retrieve the boat for them to use and then set sail from there. She still didn't know why they couldn't of done this at like noon. Jesse claimed that the ocean would be calmer and the weather would be cooler and though it made sense, she still hated him for waking her from her beauty sleep.

_***DING DING DING DING*** _

"Fuck off!" Beca slammed her hand against her alarm clock, practically breaking the small device. She frowned and sleepily sat up. Her hair was knotted in front of her face and had a dry stream of drool running down her cheek to her earlobe.

No person in their right mind should be up this early. The sun wasn't even up!

Kicking off the sheets like she was a five year old having a tantrum, she stormed her way over to her dresser and grabbed a pair of clothes before making her way to the shower.

* * *

Luckily the shower woke her up a little bit and she wasn't as pissy as she was before. Without it, she thinks she would've strangled Jesse, giving him a slow and painful death for making her skip out on some much needed sleep. Kindly, he did make the brunette a buffet of breakfast and she couldn't stay mad at him for long when there was food involved. He knew it and she knew it too.

Food had a way to her heart;even if it was six in the morning.

Beca devoured her breakfast; bacon,eggs, toast and some coffee, while they waited for Luke to get to their beach house. Jesse seemed to be looking over the map again with a puzzled face.

"What's up?" Beca asked as she took a sip of her perfectly brewed coffee.

"Just trying to think of a way back after we hit the island. With the way the currents will be going, it will get us there faster but would be a struggle trying to get back."

"Well you know, we could just end up living there. Not like my mom or your dad would notice if we were even gone." Beca took what she said as a joke and smirked at her brother. What she said was everything but funny to the brunette; and it actually pained her heart to say those things about her parents and it be completely true.

Jess frowned at this, taking his eyes off the map and the highlighter out of his mouth. "Hey," He made sure he was making full eye contact with his sister. "That's not true, Becs."

"You sure? Because it seems like I've already been missing the last twenty one years of my life to my mom." Not being able to keep up the act, her voice broke and she choked to keep the tears back.

She might pull off that, 'I don't give a shit about anything or anyone' mentality but in reality, she was actually a very sensitive person and not having her mom around was the cherry on top. There was never those last night boy chats, (girl chats since she was gayer than a drag queen riding a rainbow unicorn on Broadway but she never got the chance to tell her mom that) or binge watching a girly Netflix TV show that they'd finish in a weekend. Beca thought those two ideas were absolutely horrible and she'd rather watch Star Wars with Jesse for the rest of her life but really, she'd give up anything to have her mom around, or at least act like she wanted to hang out with her own daughter.

Jesse's dad was the same way.

Although, he did get the chance to be close to his dad until his mom passed away in a car accident on his tenth birthday. Ever since, his dad shut him out and switched to alcohol for relief and to grieve the absence of his wife away. Her brother swore that his dad never put his hands on him but Beca could tell he was lying because he'd either avoid the topic, or get defensive. That type of conversation wasn't easy to bring about, knowing Jesse still cared a lot for his father but what he's done-though Beca hasn't recived verbal confirmation-was in no shape or form the okay thing to do.

Whether Jesse was scared of admitting to being abused or trying to protect his dad, it boiled Beca's blood that she couldn't do anything about it. She loves Jesse, with all her heart and if wants her to drop a conversation referring to his dad, she'll do it. No matter how much she wants to call the police on his ass crummy ass.

A tear snuck its way through Beca's lids and fell to the table as she was now unable to keep them in.

"Look at me," Jesse instructed. Beca kept her eyes on her empty plate and clenched the fork in her hand. "Beca, look at me please." She blinked out some more tears before looking up to Jesse, brown eyes meeting a set of cloudy blue, slightly red and watery.

She hated crying, especially in front of people. It made her seem vulnerable, weak, brittle; like if someone would touch her, she'd break into a million little pieces of sadness.

"I'm not going to sit her and lie to you and say that your mom loves you and she wants to be there because honestly, you and I both know that is bullshit. I wouldn't expect, nor would I want you to do the same for my dad." Jesse reached his hand over the table to release the fork from Beca's grip and replace it with his hand. "But the one thing I am going to say is that I love you, and that's the truth. I would never even dream about abandoning you because I think I might die guilty…or with a broken heart."

Beca chuckled and because of the squinting, more tears fell from her eyes. "You're so fucking cheesy."

"That is true, but what do you expect? I watch movies like it's breathing!" Jesse mirrored Beca's laugh and brushed his thumb over the top of her hand. "I am also honest. I've realized that I don't need someone around who has to fake at being a dad but simply, my best friend. I wouldn't want to spend my life with anybody else and I hope you love me just as much as I love you. Even if you didn't, it wouldn't change a thing and I'd be there for you no matter what."

Beca rolled her eyes, still keeping her smile fixated on Jesse. "I hate you for making me cry this early." Jesse chuckled and Beca took her free hand to wipe the tears off her cheek. "And I hate you for making me go on this adventure where we could possibly die but, the hate doesn't even come close to the amount of love I have for you."

Jesse gave his sister a genuine nod and kissed the top of her hand before pulling it away to do dishes. He took Beca's and made his way over to the sink to start cleaning them.

"Jes?" He hummed in response over the sound of water hitting the dishes. Beca was standing by the door, exiting the kitchen. "Thank you. For like...everything."

Jesse cocked his head to look at his sister. "Anytime, Becs."

Beca smiled and walked fully out of the kitchen.

She was glad to have Jesse in her life because honestly, she couldn't she herself as strong if it wasn't for that brown headed goofball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? :D  
> Next chapter *Fast update, FYI ;)* Beca and the boys will set sail and we will finally meet the wonderful girls. Will it go well?  
> You'll just have to wait and see! ;)  
> Leave me stuff lovelies  
> Till next time,  
> xoxoxox


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the feedback and I'm super glad you guys are liking this story so far!  
> I had some reviews saying that AubreyxJesse and StaciexLuke would be side ships but all I'm saying is, don't expect anything with this story ;)  
> Also people reading this story and To The Devil, updates this weekend/week will be a little slow because of school.  
> I know, fuck me right? But I'll update as soon as I can!  
> Enjoy this chapter loves,

Luke arrived shortly after, dressed in the total 'California Douchebag" attire. That consisted of a ridiculously bright pair of swim trunks, a skin tight, black muscle tank that framed his perfectly toned abs and arms and a pair of black Ray Bans. His attire looked like he was about to go to the beach, not on some mystical island hunt.

Typical surfer tool.

His girlfriend, Sarah, was the one to drop him off at the sibling's beach house. Beca was surprised that she would even wake up this early to play taxi, but the girl had the heart of a great dane. She met Sarah a year ago when Luke's truck broke down and she saw the helpless boy on the side of the road. Might she add, it was extremely late that night and also pouring rain.

After jump starting his truck, he and his guest came to Beca's house that night, (woke her up by the way, again) and Beca was dumbfounded by how pretty the girl was, even with makeup running down her face and hair damp due to the rain. She was a tall blonde, with dazzling green eyes and a surprisingly fit physique. Beca later found out that she use to do gymnastics but she quit at the age of thirteen and took on surfing.

How ironic is it that both her and Luke were basically the same person?

If there was an award for the hottest blonde couple, they'd receive it in a heartbeat. Their looks combined was almost to hard to handle.

Over all, Beca really enjoyed Sarah and was a good choice for her best friend. When the couple wasn't hanging out, Beca would catch some waves with her or lunch. Basically going to get married, the couple were still going strong after two years and was sure nothing was going to get in the way between them.

The two were patiently waiting for Luke to say his goodbyes, but was taking longer than expected.

"Get a room!" Beca yelled when she saw the couple making out on his driver side door. Not breaking the kiss with his girlfriend, he raised his middle finger at Beca high and proud. Smirking, Beca went back inside to get the rest of her things ready for the trip.

Today's checklist consisted of, sunscreen (extra), aviator sunglasses, snacks (extra), a camera since Jesse insisted and she thought it'd be pretty cool to document their trip, her laptop for music, and her cell phone. Beca also changed her clothes into a pair of jean shorts with her swim bottoms underneath. There was definitely no way she wouldn't be getting into the water.

Not wanting to go outside with just her plain black bikini top on, she threw on a black tank top and finished her outfit with a pair of white flip flops.

She sighed as she threw the last item into her backpack and made her way back outside. Jesse was talking to Sarah and Luke was throwing his backpack into Beca's jeep when she stepped out of the house.

"Hey Beca." Sarah smiled and waved at the brunette.

She mimicked the smile as she also threw her pack in the trunk. "Hey Sarah. You sure you don't want to come with us? There could be a lot more make out seshs with muscle head over here." She smirked.

Luke nudged Beca in the shoulder and laughed at the joke. Sarah joined her boyfriend when he tossed his arm around her shoulder.

"As much as I'd love to, work has my name written all over it. But expect me to come hunt you guys down when you don't return back. If the island is as beautiful as rumors say it is, this one," Sarah patted Luke's stomach, emitting small ‘thud’ noises,"will have a hard time leaving the place. He is a sucker for these kinds of things."

"That is very true." Luke pecked the top of Sarah's head. She giggled and went on with saying things like 'I'll miss you' and 'There won't be anything to do here without you' blah blah blah.

Typical couple shit.

"Okay," With one last kiss, Sarah pulled back. "You guys should get going. Make sure you take pictures and send me updates." They all nodded. "I mean it guys. Currents progressively get stronger the farther you go out."

"We will Sarah. I promise." Beca gave a genuine smile.

Returning it, "Okay then. Have a safe a fun trip guys!"

With that, Sarah got back into her car, honking her horn as she passed the group and they all waved goodbye until the car was out of sight.

"You guys are repulsively adorable," Beca said as she acted like she was gagging. Luke just casually shrugged his shoulders, knowing he couldn’t argue it. 

"Alright! Let's get this show on the roll!" Luke hollered, jumping into the back of Beca's jeep. The brunette winced at the volume of his voice since it was still in fact, early as shit.

Rolling her eyes, she jogged over to the driver's side and Jesse made sure their house and everything was locked. The checklist of everything they needed was repeated, making sure they didn't forget anything.

With nothing missing, Beca started the engine and drove over to Jesse's dad's boat house.

* * *

"Damn this is nice, Jes!" Beca awed as the group was greeted by a dazzling, cherry red speedboat. There was grey pin stripes going along the side of the boat, also on top of the hood. The bow of the boat was shaped like pincer and could fit at least, five people in it. On the side, in big black letters, was the word 'Speed' and it mirrored on the other.

"Yeah I know. He loves this thing more than me." Jesse walked over to the deck, jumping down into the boat. The weight of Jesse shook the vehicle, almost making him fall into the water. He slowly regained his balance and sat down behind the wheel. "But that's not really shocking." It was a sad truth that also happened to be very true.

Poor kid.

"You know how to drive one of these?" Beca and Luke followed and also joined him down in the boat. The seats were a bright white and looked as if they never been sat on before. They still even had the brand new cushions in them.

Jesse took longer than expected with his response and Beca was starting to get worried but soon grumbled out a non believable 'yes'.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's find this place!" Beca winced again at Luke's volume but this time smacked his thigh. He was sitting on the edge of the boat, encouraging Jesse to start moving it. She had to fight every urge in her body not to toss the blonde boy into the ocean at the opening he was giving her. Luckily, the boat harshly jerked forward when Jesse started the engine, causing the blonde to get dumped into the water at the force. Beca was rolling on the seat laughing in pain and Jesse was utterly confused about what was going on.

"Come on muscles!" When she caught her breath from laughing, Beca yelled as Luke emerged from the water, spitting out some in the process and had his black glasses wrapped around his neck from the fall.

This caused Beca to laugh even harder.

Beca paused her laughing and reached her hand out over the side of the boat where Luke was, helping the drenched boy onto the boat again. At least he was in his swim trunks.

"We got an island to go find."

* * *

The ocean was beautiful.

It had a sparkle to the small waves and the blueness made it look like that glacier Gatorade Beca came to love so much. The reflection of the moon contrasted with the sun's, creating this light that was almost impossible to stare into. The aroma was filled with clear California air and a slight hint of salt water.

Beca hated to say this but, the sunset was definitely something she had the pleasure of seeing.

Maybe she'd start waking up earlier just to experience it again...

Yeah that wont happen.

When Beca looked down over the boat, she could spot tiny movements under the water, barely able to make out if they were fishes or not. The blurry images under the water were swimming around like a swarm of flies and the deeper they got, the darker the seafloor became, making it impossible to spot anything at all except the blueness of the ocean. Beca figured it was nothing to bend over backwards for and allowed herself to continue enjoying the brief smell of salt water around them.

The size of the ocean was truly astonishing. It made Beca feel so small, but it also amazed her with so many indescribable things that always seemed to pop up. It made her feel like those tiny fish she saw before and at any moment, she could get lost. Separated from her group, only to fend for herself and try not to become a snack to something much larger than her.

The ocean was a riddle.

A puzzle. Never knowing what truly lies beneath this enormous sheet of crystal blue substance.

It was also extremely dangerous. How deep the ocean went was still a mystery since humans were only capable to physically handle a certain amount of distance before they couldn't go any farther without their eardrums rupturing.

So the question Beca was still trying to figure out, what are we missing? What do they see that we can't?

The sea was like the galaxy. Too big to travel so there's doors still left unopened. Secrets were still untold and maybe never will be. A whole other world-dimension could be present at the bottom but we will never know.

That's what Beca loved most about the ocean.

The sea is unknown and one giant mystery but, it is also one of the most beautiful and magnificent sights in nature, all admit.

By this time, the group was now about two hours into this adventure and Jesse and Luke both had their shirts off, enjoying the heat from the sun and the fresh breeze of the wind hitting the hot spots over their skin. Luke was reading off directions where the map was leading them to while Jesse played captain, sailing the boat like he was Jack Sparrow-or something silly like that.

Beca by this time, also discarded her top to hopefully catch some color while she took some pictures of the ocean with the camera she brought. The area around them though was deserted and brutally silent. The only noises that were present was the engine of the boat, MAGIC! blasting through the boat's speakers, the huge splashes the bottom of the boat would make when it crashed into the water, and the clicks from Beca's camera.

It was almost _too_ silent.

The beach and city's buildings were long gone with every direction looking identical, the same blue water surrounding the boat. There was water west, water east, water south and water north when Beca pulled out her compass she didn't know she had in her backpack. Beca wasn't going to lie.

Things were starting to get sketchy.

"Guys, you know where we are right?" Beca questioned cautiously, trying to peek over Luke's to get a glimpse of the map. Knowing the blonde, he probably got them all lost.

"Of course, Becky." He pointed at a spot that clearly was just a random poke into the blue area on the map.

They are so fucking lost.

Beca scoffed at this, sitting back and tried to look at her compass again. Maybe if she figured it out, she could help the dingbats out. Swear, it was like handing a three year old a map and them thinking it was a coloring book.

Jesse was belting out lyrics, completely ignoring the two as he continued sailing the boat. "Toss me a beer and have one yourself. I can feel how tense you are from up here, Becs." She rolled her eyes despite the boy not being able to see her. "Relax."

Deciding to trust Jesse, she exhaled some of her tension out of her body and dug into the cooler Jesse packed before they left, handing over a beer and retrieving one for herself. She popped the top off on the side of the boat, bubbles foaming from the opening and swallowed a large gulp. Her chest ached in pain when the cool liquid slid down her throat, but already she started to cool off.

Literally.

"So Jesse," Beca decided to change the conversation since Luke was right about the beer easing some tension. "When are you going to stop scarfing down those burgers and start hitting the gym? Maybe you'd finally get yourself a girlfriend." Beca poked his stomach, the cute little pudge under his ribs and Luke spat some of his beer out into his hand when he tried to cover his mouth. Laughing, he reached his fist behind him to give Beca a 'knucks'.

"For your information, I have many girls wanting to get a piece of this." Jesse cockily gestured his hand down his torso as Beca gagged a few couple times. "Especially-" he ended his motions with a grope to his balls, "-this."

"Get your hand off your vagina Jes. It's making me uncomfortable." Beca swatted his arm with a laughed as he flipped his sister off. "Don't worry. Some guys aren't as gifted as others."

Luke only added into the banter by raising his hand with a smirk that made Beca erupted into a fit of laughs. With a sharp gab from Jesse's fist to Luke's private area, the blonde roared in pain and with his hands, tried to cup some of it away. Even with the new ache in his balls, Luke still managed to keep laughing, only to receive deadly glares from his friend.

"Fuck off both of you. It's not about the size of the boat, but the motion in the ocean." Beca scrunched her face in disgust when her brother proceeded to sway his hips back and forth.

"Whatever Jes! Only guys with small dicks say that!"

"You know what?" Jesse took his right hand off the steering wheel and placed it on the ties of his swim trunks. Beca's eyes stretched wide when she knew what her brother was seconds away from doing. "I'll show you assholes."

Thank God with her reflexes, Beca was fast enough to yank his hand out of his trunks before he pulled out the extra appendage that would've caused her to convulse if caught a glimpse. She has gone her whole life not seeing her brother's junk and would like to keep it that way.

Jesse barked out a laugh before going back to steering the boat. "That's what I thought."

Beca rolled her eyes and soon joined the laughter and sat back in her seat, enjoying the view of the ocean and enjoying the company of the two boys. She hates to say it but hanging with them was probably the most fun she has. The were idiots no doubt.

But they were her idiots.

In the distance and catching it last minute, Beca saw that there was something moving around in the ocean's water. The group and boat was at a far enough distance that Beca couldn't tell what it was but, it resembled something pretty big. Not shark, or whale even. But larger than a fish so it couldn't be that. And also, the longer Beca stared at this mysterious thing, it almost looked like a young woman.

A beautiful woman.

She couldn't actually point out the physical looks of the girl but from the distance Beca was at, she could tell the girl had long, dark brown hair that floated under the the water.

Again, they weren't close enough to whatever it was that Beca was looking at and this girl only had her head out of the water but even with that, Beca could feel the beauty radiating off of her like it was some kind of force. It was like getting a whiff of trash but instead of a stench, it was attractive and elegance.

Another thing and something that was extremely creepy was that the girl wasn't moving really and she was randomly in the middle of the ocean. She wasn't scared, it didn't look like she was hurt.

Why was she just floating there? Stranded?

"Do you guys see that?" Beca asked and pointed her finger in the direction of where the mysterious girl was. But as soon as Beca blinked it felt like, the girl was gone, and around them was once again, deserted.

Luke and Jesse cocked their heads when they heard this but obviously not in time to see the girl in the water.

"See what?" Luke asked, still looking into the water, hoping to find whatever Beca was pointing at. She shook her head, wondering if she actually saw what she saw or that she was going crazy.

"A girl. S-She was just floating out there, not moving." Yeah that definitely sounded like she was going crazy. They were in the middle of the ocean for fuck sakes. Why would there be a girl around?

"Uhh," Jesse slowly looked at Luke, resembling a concerned face that said, 'my sister is fucking nuts'. "Becs, I think you should lay off the beer. I know how much of a light weight you are," he joked, pointing at her half empty bottle.

Beca scoffed and rolled her eyes, wanting to slap that smile right off his face. She knew she wasn't drunk. Shit, she wasn't even buzzing. Yeah she was a light weight but one beer was not going to make her hallucinate.

She saw a girl out there. She knows she saw a girl.

It was weird though. She could still feel the strange aroma the girl gave off, like she was still there. Hidden, somewhere underneath the water but this feeling she couldn't talk about because they'll think she is even more crazy than she already is. Not wanting to share that information with her friends, she focused on something else and kept repeating to herself that no one was there and she was losing it.

Deep inside though, she knew what she saw in the water was true. But there was no way of proving it.

For now, that is.

* * *

"Hey there." The redhead lifted her head up from the carving she was doing on a large rock and was be greeted by her brunette friend, sporting a huge grin below her in the water.

"Hey," she mimicked the smile and dropped the objects she was playing with. "What's got you all devious looking?"

The brunette swooped onto the rock, joining the redhead and letting the sun's beam glow on their wet shimmered skin. She didn't answer the question like the redhead was expecting. Instead, she wiggled her eyebrows up and down; like she was hinting at something exciting.

The redhead, with a confused face, scrunched her eyebrows together, not really knowing where the brunette was going with the playful movements. "What is it? And where is Aubrey?"

"She went out for a swim and said she'd be back later." The redhead nodded in understanding. "But that's not what I wanted to tell you." Her eyes snapped open, waiting for the brunette's response.

"We have visitors," Was all the brunette said with the wag to her brows.

This was new.

 _Very_ new.

An electrical wave of excitement flooded the redhead's insides at her friend's words. They haven't had anyone around their island in a months, and she was soon starting to think they'd have to go out and hunt before they ended up starving to death. But now, she guesses not.

"Two hunks and a girl." The redhead's eyebrows shot up when her friend mentioned there was a girl on their sea. It's been years since she tasted the skin of a female and the thought of sinking her teeth into that soft flesh made her mouth water. She can't say she hasn't been craving some delicious, female flesh over the past few days. Lucky her.

"She was extremely tiny but, damn Chlo. She was a babe and smelt _delicious_... at least where I was at." Those words rumbled the redhead's stomach and gave her a burning sensation in the back of her throat. She didn't realize how hungry she was until the brunette mentioned this news and all of a sudden her stomach was growling up a storm "You and Bree can take the boys and I'll take the girl. You both haven't eaten in awhile, unlike myself, and you two need all the strength you can get."

"No," Chloe said stern and without any hesitation. "I want the girl. You and Bree take the boys. It's been centuries since I've tasted meat that divine." Chloe felt her mouth watering by just the very thought. "But Stacie," the brunette hummed in response. "Let's have a little fun with them first." Chloe's lips curved into a sinister grin that Stacie only seemed to catch onto.

Stacie giggled darkly when she glanced up and saw the sky begin to shift colors from blue to black and the waves beginning to enlarge. Simultaneously, their eyes changed to a blinding white when they made eye contact with each other.

"I like your thinking."

* * *

Beca ended up dozing off during the ride without realizing it but was soon brought back to life with the sudden weather change she felt over her skin where her tank top once was. There was stronger breeze that brought goosebumps to Beca's exposed skin and the currents of the ocean changed dramatically. Beca thought that maybe they were getting closer to the island since the currents were starting to pull them in towards a certain direction but soon realized that wasn't the case.

They were stuck in a storm it seemed like but it didn't make sense and was so random. Beca checked all weather apps before she left-even the top weather channels and they didn't once mention anything about a storm.

A pretty brutal storm by the looks of it.

The sun was gone and replaced with thick clouds that were dark as night. Strong strips of lightning was flashing down out these clouds, hitting the water that was no longer a calming blue but a threatening eerie color. It started raining heavily and then thunder boomed through the ocean's air. Strong waves emerged, brutally swaying the boat Beca and the boys were in and thrashing into the sides.

"What the fuck is going on?!"

Jesse sounded scared and honestly it made Beca panic. He never really got scared of anything, especially a storm. He'd boat all the time with his dad and was use to a little kick in the waves here and there. But now, his voice was trembling and his grip against the wheel could break through iron and it was terrifying to see him like this.

The wind was brutally strong and it was hard to keep her eyes open since the force was throwing water into their faces. Also because of the wind, the map Luke was holding was ripped out of his hands and into the darkened sea before he tried catching it.

"Fuck!" Luke yelled as he tried to spot the map in the water to reach down and grab but it was too dark to see anything. Everything was happening so fast and Beca didn't know what to do.

Would she even be able to do anything even if she could?

She glanced up from where she was standing, cupping her eyes from the flailing water and saw the clouds starting to form a funnel cloud. The lighting glowed through the funnel as a cloud shaped cone started to form slowly in the middle and down into the black sea.

"Is that a fucking waterspout?!" Beca wished Jesse was wrong when he asked the question but truth was, he was one hundred percent right. It was tall and skinny like the pictures Beca has seen in geography book for school but had extreme power for its size and able to quickly pull the boat towards where it was. If they were to get anywhere near that thing, they'd be dead in a heartbeat.

Jesse harshly cocked the wheel of the boat, able to change direction from the waterspout but was struggling to keep speed against the thrashing waves and powerful wind battling against them. The boat was violently getting stuck by the harsh waves going against them. Black smoke rose from the engine in the back, causing Beca's panic to increase drastically. She knew that wasn't a good sign.

After shifting gears and pumping the accelerator, Jesse managed to get them away from the spout but all of a sudden once they were free, the pressure from the water underneath the boat was now becoming shallow and steady- which was uncommon.

Turning her head, she immediately regretted the decision when she saw monstrous wave drawing near their boat from behind. Everything in Beca's hearing became muffled. The waves, the wind, the thunder, even the terror, spilling from Jesse and Luke's swearing was muted by her terror.

First the sudden weather change, the giant waterspout, and now a tsunami. Weather has a mind of it's own. Nature is something unpredictable but one thing Beca knew for sure was this pattern of natural disasters was unlikely to come as a chained pattern.

Actually, all of this is impossible.

The only way these would come back to back like they did was if someone was controlling the weather, making it almost impossible for them to make it out alive.

Beca doesn't believe it at first because this was a fiction movie Jesse would force her to watch about the world ending or the apocalypse. But when she found no other reasons for all of this happening, she found none.

Maybe it was true. Someone didn't want them alive right now.

But why?

She became paralyzed the more she thought about it. Every limb in her body went numb, and she didn't once tear her gaze away from the wave that was approaching the boat fast. She didn't even notice that the engine blew out when the boat came to a halt.

Luke tried to snap her out of her state of shock, tossing her a life jacket to put on.

But it was too late.

The wave violently covered boat, snapping the metal in half and that was it.

Everything went black after that.

* * *

" _ **Come to me."**_

 _Where was she?_ _Was Beca dreaming? Was she dead and that mesmerizing voice was an angel? She didn't know where she was and still she couldn't see anything but darkness._

" _ **Don't be scared."**_

_There that voice was again. Beca couldn't move though, even if she wanted to. Nothing appeared in her eyes as everything was still black. When she tried to talk, her lungs would tighten up, like they were filled with water._

" _ **Come on love, wake up."**_

_Beca tried to obey, listening to the voice's orders but it was like her eyes were glued shut and her body was paralyzed under water._

**_"Waakkeee up."_ **

" _ **NOW!"**_

The hidden voice roared Beca awake, causing her to choke up the salt water trapped inside her lungs when she finally turned over. She hunched over her side, throwing up the clear liquid onto the sand and flinched when she felt the the excruciating pain in her ribs. Wincing, she looked down at her stomach under her bikini top and saw the dark, black and blue bruises covering the left side of her ribs.

That bitter, iron taste covered the inside of her mouth and when she licked her lips, it stung like hell. There was a pretty deep gash on her lip thus causing the blood to fill her mouth and she is sure her eyebrow is bleeding somewhere but can't tell.

Her head was foggy and there seemed to be cut opened when she lifted her hand to the top by her hairline and blood instantly covered her fingers. Now it made sense where all the blood was coming from.

The salt water that layered her fingers soaked through the slash when she touched it, making her wince in pain. Removing her hand from her head, she took in that it was night time when her eyes adjusted better. The moon was out and the stars were bright and defined. She squinted her eyes due to the brightness of the two, realizing she was knocked out for a while, only seeing black.

 _Jesse and Luke._ Her thoughts slowly came back to her when she took in that she was alone and washed up on some random shore. There was no boat, no Jesse, and no Luke. Even all of her things were gone.

She arose to her shoe less feet, besides the coral ankle bracelet Jesse got her for her birthday last year and was barely able to stand on her very own without a wobble here and there. Her legs were tight, every muscle felt like she sprained, tore, pulled them. Maybe even all three.

"Jesse!" Beca screamed out on the empty island, grasping her sides because the yelling pinched her injured spots on her ribs. "Luke!" No response from either of them.

There was only the sounds of faint waves, brushing against the shore Beca was currently standing over and against the three large stones placed in the middle of the ocean. She could feel her heartbeat in her chest start to increase and her breathing became labored.

"Where am I ?" she croaked out of her bloody mouth, fear beginning to flood her body. And where the Hell was Jesse and Luke? If anything were to happen to those boys, she'd never forgive herself.

Then she felt it.

She felt that aroma again; like how she did when she was on the boat looking at the girl in the ocean.

But this time is felt stronger.

Closer. So close, like it was right behind her.

It felt like Beca was chemically connected to whatever it was producing this scent and she couldn't shake it out of her.

Just as she turned her head back towards the water where the stones were, squinting her eyes, she made out a form floating up from the water.

The presence drifted closer to the brunette as she tried to study what it was. The only thing she could make out were bright, glowing blue eyes that could hypnotize her within seconds. It was really dark except for the moon, so she couldn't really tell what it was- or really, who it was.

Finally able to identify whatever it was when it got closer, she realized it was a girl. She had flaming red hair that highlighted through the moonlight and skin that was so flushed it gleamed. Her smile was jaw dropping and shimmered across the ocean as she moved closer.

For the second time tonight, Beca was at a loss for words.

The girl was amazingly alluring.

The redhead made her way closer to Beca but she was still under the water. Beca for her part was standing on the edge, the water splashing up over her feet, cleaning them to get rid of the sand as she watched every move by this unknown woman.

Now in talking distance, the redhead stared at the stunned girl in front of her, her eyes bright and a smile so wide it seemed fake.

Before the redhead's words left her mouth, she smirked.

"Well hello there."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone reviewing and giving back the love! You guys rock.  
> Chloe's song in this chapter: Red Delicious by Siren. (Great song)  
> Enjoy ;)

'Well hello there.'

Those three simple words seemed to burn a hole deep within Beca. They were laced with sugar and everything else sweet, but also filled with power and venom in a way.

Beca didn't know if she should be afraid that she couldn't move her body to run away and possibly find her friends or, be afraid that somewhere, deep inside her body felt like this girl in front of her right now is the missing piece to her entire existence.

She definitely chose the second option because as the unknown redhead moved closer to the stunned brunette on the shore, all she could think about was how beautiful she was. Beauty never intimidated Beca in such a way and getting a glimpse of that fiery red hair, and cerulean blue eyes that glowed bright in the darkness terrified Beca to no other.

"What brings you to this island tonight?" The redhead hummed in a soft voice. Her voice sweet and it brought goosebumps to Beca's skin.

If Beca thought this girl was gorgeous physical wise, she now learned that this girl was absolutely perfect. The way she spoke numbed every her nerve in her body, like she was trapped in zero degree weather and the coldness started taking over every warm area on her skin, inside and out.

"Uh...I uh-" Beca mentally slapped herself because it was like twenty one years of English class and speech lessons went down the drain, leaving her incapable of English. Leave it up to a gorgeous redhead to make Beca speak in tongue. Shaking her head, "-uh what I mean is, where am I?"

"This-" The redhead delicately gestured her hand around the dark island. The only light present was the glow radiating off the moon, the stars and those vibrant blue eyes, glowing off the redhead like a cat at night. "-is my home."

"You live here? All by yourself?" This didn't make any sense. Why was this girl living all alone out here on some deserted island in the middle of nowhere.

"No. Actually I live here with my two sisters." The redhead smiled sweetly at the brunette and again, the power of the smile almost violently tossed Beca backwards into the abnormally soft sand.

"What's your name?" Beca asked, hoping the redhead wouldn't come any closer because if she did, Beca probably would end up exploding.

The girl didn't respond, but instead she giggled sweetly. Giggles that were ten times cuter than a puppy's whine and baby's laugh. It basically melted Beca's insides to liquid. How much cuter can this girl get without becoming extra terrestrial?

"Tell me **your** name." It didn't come out as a question and more so a demand. Her voice still was heavenly though, sweet as sugar.

"Beca," she said without hesitation. She thought it was absolutely pathetic how fast this redhead could get under her skin only knowing her for about, two minutes.

"Well Beca," the redhead purred out of the smirk curving on her lips and Beca thinks that her name has never sounded so mesmerizing coming out of anyone's mouth before. "I want to sing you something."

As a reflex, Beca scrunched her face in confusion. Out of all she could do, maybe tell Beca her name, where her friends where, how did she get her but no. This girl wanted to sing a song?

She was in the middle of some random island after losing her friends and crashing due to some storm, with an astonishingly beautiful redhead and she wanted to sing Beca a song?

That doesn't make sense.

"Is that okay?" The girl asked when Beca didn't respond. The look on her face showed that she was going to sing whether Beca said yes or no anyways so, she questioned why the redhead even made sure.

Nodding her head, the redhead flashed Beca that smile she has grown to love-even only knowing her for a short amount of time. A sudden gust of wind brushed against Beca's arms, raising the hairs and summoning goosebumps all over.

_When I want you, I don't have to raise my voice_

_When I call you, you know you haven't got a choice_

_When you hear me, you better come without delay_

_Hear me calling, honey, won't you come and play?_

_Come on_

She would be lying if she said that she wasn't being hypnotized by this unknown girl's voice. Unable to hide the sigh that escaped her lips after she noticed that she hasn't taken a breath since before the girl started singing, the redhead smirked in satisfaction. Like whatever spell Beca was under was working to her liking.

_Succumb, surrender to me_

_Throw yourself into my sea_

_I'm waiting here with my arms open wide_

_Come to me, darling_

_Come inside_

There was a push, or a force hidden beneath the lyrics, causing Beca to slowly tip toe into the water. It felt like a rope was tied around Beca's neck and the redhead was slowly tugging on it, luring her into coming closer and closer. The water was ice cold and would've numb the tiny girl's bareless feet if it wasn't for the loss of feeling already encountered. The pain in her ribs and stinging from her cut on her forehead also seemed to disappear and left Beca feeling like she was a whole new person. Immortal almost.

_Don't you want it? You know it's gonna feel so good_

_You can't stop it-you wouldn't want to if you could_

Beca hasn't wanted something so bad in her life (well, besides that new surfboard she saw at one of the beach shops or those brand new pair of headphones she recently saw a commercial for) but this? This was a kind of want that was different than what she felt for those two items. It was like if she weren't to touch or feel this girl soon, she'd end up dissolving into the ice cold ocean, piece by piece until there was nothing left but an image of what once was.

It wasn't until she was about knee deep in the water when she noticed something, drifting diligently under the darken blue. Since it was dark, Beca couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was but she knew that it was long and had some sort of sparkle to it. A sparkle that made Beca want to touch it.

_And I know it, I've got you wrapped around my thumb_

Beca was thrown out of her observation when she noticed she was now neck deep in the water, right in front of the redhead. How she got there so fast? Don't ask her because she doesn't know. It was like she was teleported over it seemed like.

She was slapped in the face by even more beauty as she connected her eyes with the glowing blue, not even ten feet away from her. They were as blue as the ocean, maybe even bluer, and it made Beca want to dive in each orbit until she was covered in their pools.

"Wow." The redhead bit her bottom pale lip and scanned Beca head to toe. This action caused shivers to Beca's spine as she felt the girl's eyes trail over her skin. "Stacie was right when she said you were a babe." Beca wanted to respond with some smart ass comment like, 'have you looked in the mirror lately?' Or ' I think you seem to be blind or highly idiotic to think I'm more of a babe than yourself,' but Beca couldn't even muster up the words to say thank you.

Instead, she melted into the compliment as the waves from the ocean drifted her closer towards the gorgeous redhead. The girl's nose brushed against Beca's cheek and she took in a big whiff. "You even smell delicious too."

Beca heard the growl in her throat lace those words, and the rumble in her stomach, throwing the brunette off balance. Before she knew it, the glowing blue eyes transformed into blinding white eyes, trapping Beca deeper under the trance she was already in. Everything was turning bright and Beca could've sworn her pupils were no longer existent. All she saw were those white orbits, slowly burning holes into Beca's soul.

"HELP! HELP ME!"

There was no way that wasn't Jesse. Snapping her head towards the distance where she heard the cries, she didn't even notice one of the redhead's hand cupping her jaw until the screams for help echoed throughout the island.

"Jesse!" Beca yelled relived, knowing it was her brother. She could spot that annoying voice-even if she was deaf. Throwing herself out of the redhead's grip without noticing the anger spreading across the girl's features, she quickly paddled her way out of the water till she could stand, transforming the movements into a sprint.

Painful stabs to her ribs were making Beca's vision blurry as tears filled in the pools of her eyes. But no matter how much pain she was in, Jesse was in trouble and that's all that mattered.

Suddenly, a loud screech from the redhead filled the silent air and it made Beca collapse to her knees from the ear splitting noise. The pain in Beca's eardrum was excruciating and if she didn't escape the sound soon, her eardrums would burst, leaving her ears to pour out all the blood left in her body.

The sound was definitely not human. Hell, not even an animal Beca knows makes this noise. And when she glances towards the ocean, she sees the the redhead from before was making the noise.

_What on earth was she?_

All of a sudden, the weather started to change again, similar to how it was when they crashed. The sky rapidly turned black as lightning glowed the dark clouds. Heavy rain poured from the sky, almost enough to drown Beca as she laid on the gravel, trembling from the sounds. The monstrous waves were back, swaying the redhead that was still trapped in the water around like she was a ragdoll.

Beca's fingers cupped her ears and her nails dug into her skull, trying to block out some of the noise. Jesse's screams were still heard through the screeches but the pain and loudness of them made it impossible to stand up. No matter how hard she tried to kick her legs up from underneath her, she couldn't overcome the agonizing screams.

Turning her head slowly into the ocean, she made eye contact with the redhead, howling into the air and noticing her teeth didn't look like normal like her's did. She tried to squint her eyes to get a better look but before she knew it, the girl dove head first into the water and just as her torso was submerged, Beca quickly caught a glimpse of a large tail flailing out into the air until it aggressively splashed back into the water, following the redhead underneath.

Not having the time to process what she saw because the screams were still echoing through Beca's ears, she closed her eyes, hoping the noise would eventually die out before she goes absolutely insane.

It wasn't much longer until the island was silent again. Nothing being heard except the gentle waves and slight breeze hitting the trees.

From her crouching position, Beca stood up, noticing the redhead from before was now gone. The sea was empty and the screeches were absent. Dry tears streamed down her face, probably from the impact the screams were having on Beca's body and her mouth was full of blood from clenching so hard on her teeth for so long. Her body was weak, weaker than before and hell her body ached.

Shaking out the blurriness in her eyes, she hoped Jesse would call out again for her so see could follow his voice because now, she didn't know where he could be.

"Beca! Luke! Help!" Beca snapped her injured body up at the sound of her brother's voice again.

"Jesse!" she yelled, wincing at the pain in her side. Deciding to run, she noticed his voice was echoing from a small hole, hidden in the cliffs.

There was no other place really on the island were Beca couldn't see so, she crossed her fingers, hoping her brother was in the hidden cave.

* * *

Chloe rapidly swam her way through the ocean, dodging rocks, fish and spears that surrounded the opening of the cave. Her heartbeat was pulsing in her throat and anger was boiling her blood like molten lava. The tail connected to her torso was giving her some extra speed as is thrashed back in forth through the water.

"Stacie!" Chloe barked out, finally making it into the cave where the three of them lived. There was no response from her sister though. "Stacie!" she tried yelling again, hoping her sister would appear. "Stac-"

"Jesus, Chloe!" Stacie shrieked, appearing from the cave's entrance behind Chloe. The girl was frazzled and had a look in her eye that could kill by a glance. "What's going on and why did you call out for us!? You know we only do that if…..you know…... _it_ happens." She bounced her head back and forth, hoping she'd understand what she meant.

Chloe flinched at Stacie's words, wishing that what she was about to tell her sister wasn't true. She took both of her hands and gripped them through her red locks floating through the water. "Yeah well-" she paused her sentence only to receive a deathly glare from the brunette in front of her. Thunder from the surface, boomed through their home, shaking every inch of rock and caught Stacie off guard.

"Chloe…" The panic in Stacie started to rapidly increase and the clenching of her fists were probably strong enough to draw blood. "What. Happened."

"It...didn't work," Chloe whispered, her voice soft and weak as she frowned at the seafloor, trying to avoid her sister's scowl. She wanted nothing more but to shrivel up into a tiny little ball and float away. This was all her fault.

But that wasn't the case.

Stacie said nothing as she was stunned by the words. She didn't know what was going to happen but, what she did know was that, it wasn't going to end up in their favor.

* * *

Making her way inside the cave, she was instantly hit in the face by darkness. The cave was cold and the rocks were covered with something slimy, giving off a weird smell. Beca assumed it was moss.

"HELP!" Beca followed the voice through the darkness, sticking her hands out in front of her to make sure she didn't run into anything. She even occasionally touched the ground to make sure there wasn't any holes that she could end up falling in. She knew she shouldn't be walking through the cave without a light or map because caves usually tend to go pretty deep. If Beca were to not find her brother or Luke in here, she could end up never finding her way out.

After a while of maneuvering through the rocks, she made it deep into the cave where the water was glowing, giving off some light unlike before. Giant spears of crystals hung from the cave's ceiling, shimmering their reflection into the glowing lake. If Beca wasn't panicking, trying to look for her brother who could possibly be hurt or in trouble, she would admire how breathtaking the color was and how clear the liquid seemed to be not to mention the crystals that surrounded the large cave.

"Jesse!" she yelled one more time; her voice echoed through the cave walls, vibrating the moist rocks.

"Beca!" Quickly, She turned her head to the voice, only to be greeted by her brother.

"Oh my God, Jesse!" She ran over to her brother who was laying on the cave floor, curled into a ball. "What happened?!"

Jesse straightened his position, hissing in pain as he did so. Beca checked his body for injuries, but found none. She didn’t understand how he could be in so much pain when he looked fine. No bones even seemed to be broken.

"The girl..." Her brother managed to wheeze out as he cupped his sides and clenched his jaw. "I saw her and, everything went black. My body was throbbing in pain-even though I wasn't injured. It felt like acid was being poured through my veins, flowing slowly through my body, head to toe."

Beca tossed her arm around her brother, trying not to hit him too hard in the process.

"What girl? What did she look like?" she questioned, wondering who else was on the island with them besides the redhead Beca encountered before.

"She was beautiful. I saw her come out of the water," Jesse pointed next to the duo at the glowing pond. "She had glowing green eyes and long brown hair. She had a smile that lit up this entire cave, but it also darkened it at the same time. Something was not right; there was an eerie chill there that I couldn't pinpoint. Then, she started singing. Her voice was angelic and I felt like the lyrics were controlling me, luring me into the water. I lost all movements in my body and that's when everything went black."

Beca thought back to her experience with the redhead and was amazed at how similar hers and her brother's encounter with the two girls was.

"Her eyes were this weird but hypnotizing white color and before she got any closer, a piercing scream was heard from outside the cave. I hunched over in more pain due to the noise and before I knew it, the girl was gone." Beca could still hear the screams ringing through her skull and probably will until she dies. They were absolutely agonizing. "Beca, it didn't seem like this girl was human. I saw something in the water and it looked like a-"

"Tail," Beca interrupted, gaze locked on the beaming water. "Like a tail from a shark or a dolphin."

"Yeah... exactly," Jesse agreed with his sister. "Do you believe in mermaids?" At this, Beca scoffed and dramatically rolled her eyes despite the situation the two were in. Jesse shrugged his body out from under Beca's arm to face his sister. "No, I'm not joking Beca."

She was a little taken back by the seriousness of his tone but it didn't stop her from making a joke out of it.

"What?" Beca snorted, nudging her brother's shoulder. "You don't actually think we ran into Ariel and her twin sister that looks nothing like her do you?"

" _Excuse you_."

A hidden voice with an offended tone interrupted Beca's and Jesse's conversation. They both scanned the cave, searching for the person responsible for the comment.

Both of them didn't have the chance to react before their bodies were drowned in torturous pain and for Jesse, again. Beca hunched over as the ache grew stronger and stronger throughout her body. She would've prefer to hear the screeches than what she was experiencing now with her brother and no one was even around to cause the deathly pain. Imagine, every single bone in your body slowly dissolving away, every muscle being cramped against pins and needles.

That's what the pain felt like. It was pure torture and Beca didn't know how much longer her body could take before she would slowly fade out of consciousness.

"Did you seriously refer to us as a fucking _Disney_ character? The one with a pet fish?" The voice was back but this time with a body. Actually, two bodies. Beca fought the pain running through her veins as she turned her head to look at the two girls. The redhead Beca saw earlier was swimming in the middle of the cave's lake next to a brunette who looked identical to how Jesse described this mystery girl before. "For your information, Ariel wishes she was us." The brunette growled and clenched her teeth.

The pain in Beca's body increased even more and she wailed in pain, throwing herself onto her back. She honestly doesn't know how much longer she can take this.

"Stacie, stop it!" The redhead pleaded with worried eyes as she watched Beca and Jesse thrash back and fourth with pain but Stacie didn't remove her scowl from the two aching siblings. "Stacie!" Still, the redhead got no response. If she didn't stop her, these people would end up dying.

With no other choice, she rose her hand and pointed it towards her sister as bubbles soon started surrounding the girl. Steam started to ascend from the liquid and Stacie yelped in pain, releasing the two from her stare. Harshly diving into the water, Chloe retrieved her hand again as she scanned underneath the water for her sister.

Both Beca and Jesse caught their breath again after what felt like years of torture. She was sure if she continued coughing any longer, she was going to end up with blood coming out of her throat every hack, only to be joined with her shriveled up organs. Coughing up a lung? Yeah, that's about to be Beca.

"What the fuck, Chloe!?" The brunette's voice roared as she appeared from underneath the water. "Don't fry me up! Fry them up!" The brunette pointed her finger at the injured two and they gave a look that resembled a 'deer in headlights' face.

"There's no reason to kill them now since the curse Demeter put on us was broken!" The redhead yelled back, invisible foam pouring from her mouth like a rabid dog.

"Well I might as well have one last meal before who knows what will happen!" Stacie's anger was heightened and Jesse gulped at this, cocking his gaped eyes at his sister. "This is all your fault you know! You let her get away!"

Chloe gasped loudly. "Don't you dare blame this on me! There has been multiple occasions where your voice almost didn't work! Remember that Brazilian guy a couple years ago?!"

Stacie slammed her fist into the water, creating a giant splash that ended up hitting Beca and Jesse in the process. "How the **_fuck_** was I supposed to know that he was a fucking deaf guy?! He didn't have it written across his chest now did he!?" Stacie hissed at her sister, veins popping out of her neck a little bit more and more every syllable.

As the two girls ranted back and forth, Beca and Jesse were left confused, questioning whether they should interrupt the heated duo or sneak away.

Feeling the need to break up...whatever this argument was,"uh, excuse me?" Beca finally found the courage to speak, breaking the two girls out of their rant. She regretted it immediately when she was faced with both bitter scowls. Awkwardly laughing, "-um hi." Beca waved at the two. "Sorry to interrupt but can you tell us what's going on?"

Ignoring her question, Stacie's eyes flashed to white as she rapidly swam up in front of Beca, aggressively grabbing her by the neck. Beca squealed at the force, feeling as if her eyeballs were going to bulge out of her skull when she felt Stacie's nails dig into her skin.

"I knew I should've taken you myself. Why don't I just finish you now?" Stacie snarled, opening her mouth for Beca to be greeted with a mouth full of fangs right in front of her eyes and she was pretty sure her breathing stopped. Jesse, who was next to her, couldn't believe what he was seeing and ended up passing out stone cold on the rocks.

Closing her eyes, wishing to herself that this would be a quick death, the sharp set of teeth were retracted before making any contact with her skin. Instead of fangs, the brunette's mouth was filled with a sharp cry as she unclasped Beca's neck, once again diving back into the water.

She emerged seconds later, angrier than she ever was before, and turned to the redhead.

"I swear to God Chloe I'll fucking gut you like a fish if you don't stop burning me!"

"We have bigger things to worry about Stacie! For one, what's going to happen to us? And two, how are we going to tell-"

The redhead's sentence was cut off and replaced with that piercing screech Beca heard before. She once again hunched over in pain, noticing that her brother wasn't affected by the noise because he was oh right, passed out.

This time though, the redhead wasn't the cause of the banshee scream and neither was the brunette. Both of them were unaffected also. They just stood in the water, frozen and actually showed a hint of fear unlike before.

" _ **CHLOE! STACIE!"**_ Beca could feel the fury, laced in the scream, even under the amount of pain she was experiencing. The voice was angry and Beca really didn't want to be here when the thing responsible appeared from wherever it was coming from. She can't handle two of these...things let alone three.

Oh this is not good.

The redhead grabbed the brunette's hand under the water, squeezing it tightly. Both of the girls gulped, turning their head so they were making eye contact.

"Here comes problem number two Stace."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyooo! Thanks to everyone reviewing, it totes means the world :)  
> For the guest that asked what Chloe, Stacie and Aubrey were, let me explain. As far as the siren view, I only wanted the girls to kill and lure people in like a siren (Voice) and also the curse they have is similar to a siren (Look up siren mythology). As far as looks go, they are full mermaid. I needed them that way just because of the plot but Aubrey is the most similar to a siren 'wise' and you'll get a view of why in this chapter. Hopefully that clears things up and also their powers and other creatures that will appear in this story are all made up by my crazy imagination lol  
> That being said,  
> Enjoy Chapter 5 :D

"Problem number two?!" Beca squealed, trying to wake her brother up who was currently unconscious next to her, laying on a pile of rocks. She can't handle anymore problems when two are swimming right in front of her. "What the fuck is going on?!"

Stacie whipped her frightened face over to Beca, quickly transforming her look into a sinister scowl. "I swear to God if you don't shut her up Chloe I'll kill her before Aubrey gets the chance to," she hissed, venom basically pouring out of every last syllable. With cautious eyes, the redhead gave Beca a look that said, 'don't even test her. She's not joking." After receiving this worried glance, Beca decided this wasn't the right time to speak.

There was a change in temperature, not physically wise but deep down, Beca could feel it in her gut. Whatever the two girls were staring at near the caves entrance which, only resembled a pitch black hole, she knew it wasn't going to be good.

In a flash, Jesse snapped his body up, chest heaving up and down and his eyes the size of basketballs. There were tiny droplets of sweat bordering his hairline and a cut on his eyebrow he got from falling on a rock when he passed out.

"Beca!" Jesse yelled in between his pants. He grabbed Beca's neck, pulling her down before she got the chance to say anything. "You're alive!" Beca rolled her eyes at her dramatic brother, only to catch a glimpse of two girls in the water about ready to rip the poor boy to shreds if he wasn't quiet.

With a few grunts and huffs, she untangled her small form from her brother's tight embrace. "Dude. We need to be quiet," Beca sharply whispered. Turning her head, she noticed that the girls were still in shock, staring at the dark entrance, not even paying attention to her and Jesse. With this, she though of an idea.

With her finger that was covered in dirt and blood from her cuts, she pointed to another opening in the cave's walls. This path was a long strip of rocks, slightly lit from the water's glow. There were crystals hanging from the cave's ceiling just like the room they were in now and the lake ran up against the path like a stream. It looked like the path went on for days, probably only going deeper into the cave-which wasn't all that good didn't need but, Beca needed to get her and her brother out of here, especially since something bad was on its way according to the two girls.

Jesse silently nodded, hoping that them standing up wouldn't be too much noise. Without a peep, the two made their way to the new pathway and luckily, the girls were still fixated on the hole and what was destined to come out.

The two quietly tip toed their way unnoticed until Jesse's foot stepped on a brittle, fallen crystal from the ceiling, making a lot of noise for such a small piece. They froze on impact, breathing stopping in the process. The sound was still quiet enough that only they could hear it but Beca knew that the girls caught a sound of the cracking.

"And where do you think you're going?" Beca and Jesse froze where they were, slowly turning around to where the voice came from.

Expecting to see an angry yet beautiful redhead or brunette, she was greeted by a different girl who was just as beautiful. She had long blonde hair, going all the way down her torso and pair of teeth that lit up every dark area in the cave. Across her neck, was a piece of bright, green seaweed tied around her neck like a necklace, outlining her collar bone diligently. The blonde was still under water and Beca was too terrified to sneak a peek at anything lower but she knew the girl was toned by the way her skin sparkled off her muscles under the surface.

But her eyes were something else.

She had a lighter pair of emerald eyes compared to the brunette's dark but they were still dark as night in a way and were thin and pointed at the corners, kind of resembling snake eyes. Alluring and hypnotizing but threatening and dangerous all at the same time.

And it wasn't just that. The way her jaw clenched, almost breaking her beaming set of teeth and the way her nostrils were flaring in and out every breath, made it seem like she was the problem the brunette and redhead were scared of. Beca honestly couldn't blame them either because just looking at the blonde from a good distance was bringing this eerie chill to the aroma, giving Beca chills up and down her spine like pins and needles.

"Beca, look." Jesse broke Beca out of her gaze on the blonde and pointed into the water she was currently in. Something was swaying back and forth under the water, creating bubbles to float up to the surface. Whatever it was underneath was a dark navy blue, contrasting with shimmers of dark green. It almost looked like it was bedazzled the way the water glowed off the mysterious thing.

Beca really tried to squint to clear up the image but her and Jesse were too far away to pinpoint what it actually was.

Catching a glimpse of Beca's gaze, the blonde's lips curved into a devil like smirk and she raised whatever it was that was connected to her into the open for Beca and Jesse to see.

Beca was in shock.

The girl had a tail. A tail that was long, and thin and connected to her body just under her navel. It was a dark blue, just like Beca saw and was mixed with a glittery hint of green on the fish like scales. Running down the sides were different size fins that arched out into thin points. Towards the end, the tail split in half, creating fan like curves, with long, keen tips. These tips were also bordered with black since the farther the tail got away from the blonde's torso, the darker in color it changed.

By the time Beca retracted her eyes back up to the blonde's, her once emerald eyes were now replaced by them piercing white orbs.

" _ **Run."**_ It was a whisper that came from the blonde but hit Beca in the chest like an explosion. Her body was numb again and was still in shock from the lengthy, fascinating, (but weird as shit) appendage that normally would be covered by legs. Beca's arm was yanked hard, practically pulling it out of its socket due to the force. Her legs were heavy but soon, felt them mirroring Jesse's legs as he sprinted them through the new path, dragging Beca's frozen body behind. He took her into the passageway they were already going to go into and since there wasn't any water near it, it seemed like the safest option.

"M-mer-maid," Was all Beca said in between her pants, barely loud enough for Jesse to hear. Without looking back, she could listen to the splashes of water being thrown out as the blonde thrashed her tail in and out underneath the water. The sounds were getting closer and closer that Beca could feel the coolness of the temp on the water, grazing the back of her neck every splash.

"Aubrey stop!" Beca heard one of the girls scream for the blonde and knew it was the redhead. Even if she wanted to forget that mesmerizing voice, she wouldn't be able to. There was a spot deep in her brain just for that sound.

"Over here!" Jesse drug her into another opening in the cave which lead away from the river of water. Making it a good distance, Beca and Jesse stopped their running to turn around. "Good thing she's a fish," Jesse gasped, trying to catch her breath as he placed his hands on his knees."And can't get out of water."

Just as he said that, the blonde proceeded to throw her arms over the side to lift herself onto the damp rocks. What wasn't there that was there before was the tail. Somewhere in the process, she transformed, giving herself human legs that looked basically normal. Legs so normal and human like that they were now running full speed at the two siblings.

"What the fuck?!" Jesse screeched, not tearing his gaze off the fanged blonde, darting towards them at incredible speed. "She can grow legs?!"

Not answering her brother, it was Beca's turn to pull him through the darkened cave before they were ripped to shreds. The blonde was fast but Beca and Jesse had a big lead on her from before so they got a head start.

"Babe! Babe stop!" Beca quirked her eyebrows up at the choice of words, this time coming from the brunette.

If she wasn't currently being chased by a rabid blonde, waiting to sink her teeth into her pale flesh, she'd stop and question why this girl just referred to the blonde as 'babe'. But she was, and needed to get her brother and herself to safety pronto dente.

* * *

"Babe!" Stacie yelled, lifting herself up out of the water until her tail was in view. "Aubrey!" Her words had no effect towards the blonde, as she continued to chase down the two humans.

"Stacie, we need to stop her!" Chloe panicked, dunking her head under the water, hoping she would find a way. Stacie was still shouting at the blonde from the distance she currently picked up from running, almost making it hard for her and Chloe to spot the girl. Chloe quickly emerged from the water. "There!" She pointed to a hole coming out from the ground. Nodding, Stacie and her dove under, and into the hidden passage Chloe found.

* * *

Beca and Jesse were still running through this surprisingly enormous, dark cave, probably making it ten times worse for them ever to make it back out. But that thought soon faded once they heard the monstrous growls, coming from the blonde behind them, now all of a sudden closer than before.

Yeah, it was either get lost in a cave or get ripped to shreds in one- and also be lost while getting devoured.

Her legs were on fire from the running and the pain in her ribs from the crash was still unbearable. It was also muggy in the cave, making it almost impossible to breath, especially after basically running a marathon.

Jesse made the duo take a sharp turn into another room in the cave that looked a lot like the room they started in. Their feet skidded against the gravel, making both of them fall on impact, colliding them into the cave's ground harshly. Beca winced in pain since she was one, barefoot, and the amount of running she did over sharp rocks and other unknown pieces shredded the bottom of her feet and two, she twisted her ankle when her and Jesse fell.

She hissed in pain as she cradled her knee, wishing that she could just stop injuring every part on her fragile body. She'll need to be in a wheelchair if she ever makes it out of this cave alive but those chances weren't looking so hot right now.

* * *

Stacie and Chloe glided through the water, hoping that the shortcut Chloe found would help them stop Aubrey before she kills the two area was tight and every time the swayed their tails up and down, it scraped against the rocks. They were also glad that they could see in the dark since it was black and had absolutely no idea where they were going.

Resurfacing, they made it in time to see the two humans take a quick turn, falling roughly into the ground as they did so.

Chloe saw Beca hissing in pain, knowing she must've hurt her ankle due to the fall. Chloe wanted to go out there and help the small brunette and she didn't really understand why. Just a little bit ago, the girl was lined up to be Chloe's next meal but now, and seeing her hold back the tears from the amount of pain she is experiencing in her ankle made the redhead's heart break in half. Shattering bit by bit every cry that escaped Beca's mouth.

Out of the darkness of the cave, Aubrey appeared in front of the hopeless two with hunger laced in her eyes, pouring out through her pupils and around her socket. The throaty growls coming from her chest were strong enough that Chloe could feel the vibrations in her own. She didn't know what to do and neither did Stacie but Aubrey was migrating closer and closer to the two, leaving them with less time to figure it out.

"Stacie," Chloe voice was soft this time, knowing that what she was about to ask her sister would probably be the hardest thing she had to do. Stacie turned her head, glossy eyes making contact with Chloe's.

"No, I-I c-can't," Stacie choked out over the knot that currently formed in her throat and for the first time in a long time, Chloe knew Stacie was afraid.

"Stacie, you need to. She will kill them if you don't." Chloe stopped to take a quick look at Aubrey who was even closer to the two than before. Her teeth were fanged and her eyes were that sinister white. There wasn't much time left before they are too late and she needed her sister's help. "Only you can stop her," she muttered to the brunette.

"Why can't you burn her?" Stacie challenged back weakly, her voice near breaking.

Though it was a valid option, Chloe knew Aubrey and knew out of the three of them, her tolerance was the best. After testing this theory during a petty argument in the past, she found out her powers had little to no harm over the blonde. Stacie and her powers on the other hand are the strongest, thus making her the only one to break through Aubrey's tough core.

"You know my powers have no affect on Aubrey, especially the state she's in," Chloe answered calmly, it wanting to raise her voice at how vulnerable Stacie's body language was giving off. "You're the only one that can stop her when she is this upset."Not having any other choice but to agree, Stacie weakly nodded her head.

Aubrey was now in front of Jesse, clasping her grip onto his neck only to bring her fangs closer to his pulse.

Stacie inhaled and removed her stare from the redhead's and replaced it over to the blonde. Gritting her teeth, she floated her eyes shut, reopening them to that milky white color. Her locked gaze was set on the blonde and just before Aubrey could attached her teeth to the boy's neck, she released her grip, dropping him to the floor as she screeched in pure misery. Her nude body was thrashing back and forth as she continued to scream in agonizing pain, Stacie's blinding stare not daring to break away.

Chloe knew the sounds Aubrey was making was hard for Beca and the boy but knew that they were a lot safer with ear problems rather than being digested through the blonde's stomach as her next meal for the night.

Stacie's eyes turned glossy over the white, tears threatening to pour out any second as she watched the scene unravel within her eyes.

The blonde hunched over on the ground, eye color changing back to her light green as her body started to shake in pain. Her screams were transforming into more of a human sound rather than a monster's roar but then, they were slowly drifting out. Getting quieter and quieter until she collapsed onto the gravel, stone cold.

Stacie's eyes flashed back to that normal glowing green color and she swam her way over to the edge where Aubrey was currently laying at. The blonde's legs slowly transformed back into a tail and Stacie slowly lifted her up bridal style from the rocks to bring her back into the water. Lifeless, Aubrey's head hung over one of Stacie's arms and her tail hanging over the other, tears escaping from her closed eyes as they rolled down her pale cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Stacie," Chloe mumbled, not lifting her head from the water to see her sister in such bad shape.

Without making eye contact with the redhead, Stacie took the blonde in her arms over to the corner of the cave. Just so they could be alone.

Chloe frowned as she lifted her head, watching Stacie swim her way over the the rocks on the side of the cave with a motionless Aubrey wrapped in her arms.

"Fuck...Jesse my ankle." Chloe heard Beca say to boy whose name was now cleared up as Jesse. She made contact with the two but not before the boy passed out once again. Beca's eyes were also heavy and bloodshot from the crying that she soon found herself floating in and out of consciousness.

In and out until she made contact with Chloe's glowing blue eyes one last time before everything went black from there.

* * *

" _ **Hey"**_

_Beca heard the voice but couldn't for the life of her open up her eyes. It was like the dream she had before, right after the boat crash._

" _ **Don't be afraid."**_

_It was that sweet angelic voice from before as well but this time, Beca felt safe. Like she could trust the voice, wherever it was coming from._

_Honestly, she felt like she was on a cloud. Her body was light and the air was crisp. Maybe this time she died and she was on her way to heaven. Maybe she was dreaming and she would wake up back in Santa Cruz to Jesse's delicious smelling pancakes right on top of the smell of freshly brewed coffee._

_Maybe the mermaids, the redhead, the demon blonde that chased after them, the song, the boat crash, the storm, everything, was just one big dream._

_Nothing was real._

_Nothing happened._

_No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't snap her eyes open._

" _ **Beca, open your eyes.**_ "

Unlike before, the angelic voice lured her out of her unconscious in a gentle way, unlike the roaring way back on shore.

Before she sat up, Beca's eyes needed to adjust to the light in the cave. Once adjusted, she sat up, noting that nothing in her body hurt anymore. The pain in her ribs were gone, the gash on her forehead and even the pain in her ankle all disappeared but she doesn't know how they could all just disappear.

"How do you feel?"

Beca jumped at the voice and threw herself into the cave's walls, clenching her hand to her heart. "Jesus Christ!" Beca hissed before she took in where the voice came from.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Chloe timidly said, swimming away from the frightened brunette. Beca didn't say anything but kept her gaze on the redhead. She knew that she was staring and honestly, she hated when people stared at her. It made her feel like a freak of nature and there was bugs crawling out of her pours.

But this was a legit reason to stare.

Beca moved her eyes down the redhead's body into the water where another colorful, length was swaying back and forth in the ice blue liquid. The redhead tried to tuck the tail in like she was a scared puppy or something and it made Beca's heart flutter for some odd reason. It was kind of adorably cute.

Not only was this girl in front of her the most beautiful thing she has ever laid eyes on, but she was also a mermaid. A mythical creature her teachers and friends would tell stories about that only made Beca roll her eyes and say, 'those things aren't real.'

But they were real.

And for the first time ever, Beca was so amazed and at a lost for words that she couldn't even speak.

Even though she couldn't speak when the redhead's gorgeousness slapped her across the face at every angle but this, this was different.

She was astounded.

Beca took a look over to her side, breaking the stare with the redhead to look at her brother who was still unconscious.

"He's okay," The redhead whispered. "You and him both passed out due to Aubrey's crying but I checked your bodies for any other injuries." She lowered her head like she thought she was about to get yelled at from Beca for even touching her brother. But that wasn't the case. Beca was actually grateful that she made sure the both of them were okay. "I take it he faints easy?"

Beca scoffed out a laugh and shook her head, crawling her way to the edge of the rocks just before the water. As Beca got closer, the redhead moved farther away from the brunette. "How long was I out?" Beca asked, knitting her eyebrows at the redhead's timid appearance. It was like she was scared of her or something. The only person that should be scared right now is Beca since she is having a conversation with a Goddamn mermaid.

"Only an hour," Chloe responded quietly, not picking up her face from the blue water. "I also knew you hurt your ankle and had that deep cut on your forehead so I sort of…helped with that." She brushed a few strains of wet hair behind her ear, giving Beca a brief, sheepish smile.

There goes Beca's heart again. If this redhead keeps up this adorableness, she won't be able to contain her heart and will probably end up losing it as it flies out of her chest.

"Thank you…" Beca paused, not knowing the girl's name. When the redhead lifted her head, Beca gave her a faint smile. The redhead returned it but Beca could still see the nervous tension radiating through her skin, breaking through her beaming smile.

"Chloe."

Beca's smile got bigger at the response. "Beautiful name for a beautiful girl." Chloe blushed at this, returning her gaze over the water once again. Beca had to really keep her focus and not have her eyes float down to her chest since in fact, it was bare. The only thing covering the redhead's breast was the long, flaming, red hair, draped over the front of her shoulders.

Beca cleared her throat. "Thank you, Chloe. For making sure we are okay and you know, fixing my broken self."

At this, the redhead giggled and that was the breaking point for Beca. She didn't know why but she felt like this girl was the missing piece to Beca's entire existence. That she has been living her whole twenty one years of life with a empty hole but only suddenly she came upon that piece on some random island where their boat crashed.

It was like for the first time ever, she felt complete and she didn't even know this girl.

Or mermaid.

Fish maybe?

Whatever she was, the connection was there.

Beca changed her position, gently laying her legs in the cool water that covered all the way up to her knees. It iced over Beca's warm skin and glistened the paleness along her legs. Even though Beca didn't get closer to Chloe, she still widened the distance between the two of them as Beca saw her backing up again.

"Why are you backing away from me? Shouldn't I be the one backing away from you since you're supporting a very large, unnatural appendage to your torso?" Beca meant this as a joke but face palmed herself when the small smile on the redhead's mouth had quickly transformed into a frown. "I-I...didn't mean it like that," Beca apologized sincerely.

"It's okay. I know what you mean. We aren't usually the most… _friendly_. You have every reason to be scared of me."

"I'm not scared of you," Beca reassured bluntly and it surprised herself. In fact, she _should_ be terrified of this girl who just moments ago tried to eat her, sink her teeth into her skin, not wanting to get close to the mermaid like she currently was.

Chloe laughed and rolled her head to the ceiling of the cave. "Sure you are. We just tried to kill you and your-"

"Brother," Beca answered, knowing she didn't know who Jesse was.

"Right." Chloe returned her head back to normal, connecting her eye with Beca's cloudy blues. "I was seconds away from eating your soul from your body, savoring every last inch of flesh your body gave. Drinking the blood from your body till the very last drop and take your bones over to the collection of other helpless people I've come across, just adding it like a trophy you would save after winning a soccer match." Beca gulped at her visual words. Still, she wasn't scared. "And you are telling me you aren't scared-" Chloe's eyes flashed to that milky white. "One," she moved her position off the side of the cave and slowly swam over to the edge where Beca was sitting, "bit?" Chloe growled the last word, deep from the inside of her chest

Chills covered Beca's body the closer Chloe got and though she should be scared, frightened even, she wasn't. Not one bit.

She wasn't even scared when she decided to jump into the water, right in front of Chloe, centimeters away from her newly changed eyes. Not even flinching when the newly discovered tail thrashing underneath the water brushed against Beca's legs, making her shiver at the touch of the scales.

She hesitated at first but soon wrapped her thin arms around Chloe's neck to help her stay up in the water that, was surprisingly deep and for her being so small and only able to tread for so long, needed some assistance.

"Do you believe me now?" Beca whispered, inches away from Chloe's face. It took a while but Chloe's hands finally moved to Beca's waist to help keep her up. Also the color in Chloe's eyes changed from white to that glowing blue again. "As much as I love that your eyes turn white, the blue suits you better. Kinda look like a cat at night. It's pretty fucking cool." Beca smiled when she saw a small similar one break pass Chloe's lips. "They also match your tail."

Unable to hide the smile, Chloe broke out into a full on beaming grin that made Beca's insides hurt. Her hands still remaining on Beca's hips and the only thing keeping the two up was the powerful swaying of the tail underneath.

Maybe she shouldn't of jumped in the water.

Chloe could've easily killed her right then and there. Shit, should could even kill her now with how close Beca is.

But Beca knows Chloe won't do it.

And though it might of not been the smartest idea to jump in, hopefully Chloe understands that Beca is everything but scared of her.

And hopefully she believes it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg guys! Thanks for all the feedback! For that, I reward with a fast update!  
> Originally, the girl's story was going to just be this chapter but as I began to write it, there was still a couple thousand of words to go until their full story was told. So what I ended up doing was split the interrogation of the mermaids into two chapters since this one was getting pretty long.  
> I do hope with this chapter you'll understand more about their story (Mostly Beca's and Chloe's).  
> ALSO! I want to give a shout out to one of my reviewers who always ends their reviews with ' best wishes.' You are literally the best and honestly I appreciate your feedback so much. Especially on both my stories! Thank you for reviewing! :D  
> Enough chatting.

Beca was nervous.

And it wasn't the fact that she was currently neck deep in a frozen lake, centered hidden within a random cave on an also random island, wrapped around a mythical creature who was also extremely gorgeous but had a tail where most humans supported legs.

No, that wasn't why she was nervous.

Her heart was currently beating out of her chest, slowly pumping through her throat while her chest heaved for air because of something different. That something different was a feeling, deep within her core. Sort of like force or a hunch. Her palms were sweaty as her fingers hooked onto each other from behind the redhead's neck. Chloe's breath was warm on Beca's lips but her eyes were cold as they stared into her soul. She could've sworn she shivered as Chloe's hands grazed lining of her spine, top to bottom.

Then there was that hunch again and Beca didn't understand why or where it came from when she stared off into those bright blue eyes.

She wanted to kiss this girl in front of her for no apparent reason. Like the world and her existence counted on it. And it didn't even matter that earlier this night, she was suppose to be a main dish for an all you can eat mermaid buffet.

What mattered was how close Chloe was and how soft the tips of her fingers felt against Beca's pale skin; or how her glowing eyes made Beca feel secure. She has never felt so safe under a gaze before.

While Chloe was telling Beca that she should get out of the water before she gets hypothermia since her lips were turning the scary blue color and didn't want her to freeze to death, it didn't matter. And if Chloe hadn't said anything about Beca's body reacting negative towards the coldness, she wouldn't have even been able to tell because as she floated, wrapped up in the mermaid's embrace, the water felt anything but cold. Even sort of warm. That's probably why she found herself tightening her grip around Chloe's neck, sighing a soft 'I don't care' against her skin.

"There is something about you. Some feeling I get when I look into your eyes and feel like I've seen them before," Beca said, watching Chloe bore holes into her intently. "They are filled with protection, letting me know that they wouldn't let anything bad happen to me, especially death from cold water," Beca hummed, not breaking her gaze on those glowing blues. "It's a feeling I've felt before but I just can't pinpoint when and where."

"Beca," Chloe whispered quietly, taking her hand away from where it was on her back and moved it up to her scalp, brushing the tips along Beca's forehead. With her fingers, she started to massage the newly dampened hair from the humidity of the cave. Beca slightly flinched when Chloe's fingers hit the sensitive spot on her head.

When Beca realized what Chloe was soothing on her head, "stitches," she said with a shrug nonchalantly. "Surfing." Beca laughed, joining her hand on top of Chloe's as the mermaids eyes lit up even more. "Pretty cool battle wound I think."

_**Flashback** _

_The wind was breezing swiftly through her wet air and all against her warm skin that cooked under the sun's beams. The water was abnormally blue that day and on the news, reporters claimed there was going to be some pretty big waves that surfers weren't going to want to miss. Not wanting to be one of those surfers, Beca jogged her way to the beach, hoping to release some of the stress her mom was currently putting on her._

_They fought; screamed at each other to the point where they cried, trying to fight the sobs in their throat so they could form sentences. It wasn't anything unusual with the two. Hell, they have been doing this since Beca was in middle school. Why would it change in high school? They had to keep up the sequence some how._

_But today was different._

_Beca was a sophomore at Barden High in Santa Cruz and just got done with classes. She promised to go to one of Jesse's soccer games since he was a starting freshman. Nervous would be an understatement when it came to the nail biting, sweat dripping noob she called her brother but overall, he was excited, and that's all that mattered._

_This game was important to Jesse especially when he told Beca that their parents were going. It was almost hard to believe since Beca's mom and Jesse's dad didn't go to any of her surfing competitions or middle school continuation along with elementary (even though that was complete bullshit). But still. If there was an award for being the most selfish, and also best liars on the face of this planet, their parents would be a shoo in for the winnings. She tried to tell him not to get his hopes up but Jesse had that puppy dog gleam in his eyes that gave Beca some hope that their parents would get off their high horse for one second to watch their son play his first game._

_That hope was soon crushed when Beca made it over to the stadium, scavenging the bleachers for her parents, only to find out that they weren't there. She really hoped that she missed them somewhere as she was searching; or maybe they were seated across in the parent section and were hidden behind the band's instruments._

_But she wasn't, and the look Jesse gave Beca down from where he was at in the stadium and up into the bleachers, informed her that she was everything but wrong about her parents. The look of betrayal laced in his eyes and the way his face mopped when he shrugged his shoulders to his sister clearly saying 'you were right' was the exact moment she realized that her parents were complete and total assholes._

_She tried not to let her anger get the best of her so she could actually enjoy Jesse's first game. Be there and support him unlike their parents._

" _Jesse you did amazing," Beca enthusiastically said to Jesse after his game with a wide grin on her face._

_They were tied until the last five minutes of the second halve. Jesse was put in by his coach once a senior on his team, Tom, got injured. Beca hated to say that the coach was nervous bringing a freshman into the game but come on. It was Jesse he was throwing into the arena._

_Long story short, he proved his coaches wrong with a snazzy steal and a legit bicycle kick into the goal to win the game for Barden. Where he learned how to do that? Beca will never know. Probably one of his ESPN games on his X-Box or something that he played like a religion._

" _Thanks Becs," Jesse responded sporting a similar smile to Beca's but not nearly as genuine. He took out his shirt from his locker as Beca was watching him. How Beca also got into the boy's locker room? Don't ask._

" _Jesse I'm so-"_

" _Don't Beca," Jesse interrupted sternly but gave Beca a small reassuring smile. He put on his shirt and closed his locker. "It's fine. Maybe they were busy or some business came up. I'm just glad you made it." Beca hated when Jesse would try to cover up for their parents when he couldn't just out right say they were complete assholes for missing his game._

_Bless his big, tender heart though._

_He gave Beca a nudge against her shoulder and a small smile that tried to hide his disappointment but, didn't sneak pass his sister. She knew he was hurting and like 'brother like sister,' he covered the pain up._

" _Of course Jes. Wouldn't miss it." Beca mirrored his smile, knowing he didn't want to talk about their parents. "Any chance of seeing you fall on your face across turf, you can count me in!" Jess rolled his eyes and smacked her in the face with his dirty, sweaty soccer jersey. Mixing her laughs with some gags, she grabbed his jersey when he smacked her again with it. "Come on nerd." She made her way to the exit but not before tossing Jesse his shirt back. "Let's go home."_

* * *

_Home was where it all started._

_Where instead of finding an empty house because their parents were busy doing something important since they missed their son's first game even though, they said they would be there, they found pieces of clothing trailed across the floor and all the way up to their bedroom._

_Beca crossed her fingers; and for a split second even prayed, hoping that what she thought was going on wasn't the case. But again, just like always, she was right. And the soft moans from her mother, slipping through the crack underneath the door was a slap in the face reminder that she was right. One hundred percent right._

" _You gotta be fucking kidding me!" Beca couldn't keep the anger in much longer at this point and yelled, marching her way to her parent's room, leaving a very confused and worried Jesse behind. She ignored everything. The nauseating moans, the way the bed was squeaking and hitting the wall placed behind the bed, the way Jesse was yelling at her from the bottom of the stairs to drop it and leave it alone, don't make a bigger deal out of it. She muted everything out and next thing you knew, she was in the room._

" _You guys are absolutely repulsive!" Beca screamed, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She didn't even care that she literally just walked in on her parents who were still very much naked. "For one second, I thought you guys would actually end up coming to Jesse's game. I know, it surprised me too even after all those absences from you both when you said you'd come to school concerts all the way to my surfing competitions. I didn't believe you'd come but Jesse did, and that was the little bit of hope I had left for you two. I wanted to slap the sense into his brain maybe let him down easy that you guys would be too busy with work to make it, just like how you always were. Turns out though, you guys didn't come because you were to busy fucking each other like the filthy animals you really are."_

_Beca laughed at this while the tears finally escaped her eyes, streaming down her cheek. "I don't give a shit that you guys don't come to anything in my life and honestly, I wouldn't want you there even if you said you'd come. But to Jesse, it meant the world to him. He wanted to be able to look up into the stands when he scored a point, the last fucking point to win the game I might add-" Beca reminded, "-and feel like his parents were proud. But when he looked up there, while his team carried him on their shoulders, chanting his name and how they won because of him, he saw no one. Of course he saw me but he knows I love him. He knows that I would bend over backwards just to see him happy, just like any family would. Any family but ours." She clenched her jaw as her parents started at her, mouth gaped open. "Hurt me all you want but don't, don't you dare ever fucking hurt your son who thinks so highly of you guys. Maybe something good will come out of this and remind the poor boy of what pathetic, deadbeat scumbags of people we have as parents." Her last words were spat out of her mouth, hopefully hitting her parents with the venom surrounding every last letter._

_Her blood was boiling and couldn't find it in her body to stop. Even when Jesse was calling her name to stop._

_She kept on walking. Running even. All the way to the beach where she usually goes when she is upset. The funny thing about the ocean is that it can never hurt you. Physically wise, yeah, but never emotionally- which her family has been doing a lot of._

_And what Beca would give, just to feel physical pain instead of emotional._

_That's how she ended up far in the waters, catching some of the big waves the news anchors said would happen._

_Her crying stopped, and the anger was slowly fading out of her tiny body every time her board grazed against the ocean. But the thing with emotional pain is that it never leaves. Maybe temporarily yes. But truly it never goes away completely. It hides, deep within your conscious, just waiting for the moment when you're finally happy to reappear, burning that buzz straight into the ground._

_As the tears covered Beca's eyes and her vision was becoming foggy, a huge wave was coming at her from behind without her paying attention to it. Turning her head last second, she got a glimpse of the size of the wave and felt her heart beat thump against her chest faster and faster. She knew she shouldn't try to surf it because the last time she encountered a wave that size, it ended her in the hospital._

_But then again, she didn't really care about anything right now._ " _Fuck it,_ _" she mumbled to herself, slowly standing up on her board._

_The wave was coming and it was coming fast. If Beca was fast enough to turn her board at the right time, she'd be able to ride it all the way to shore._

_But she wasn't._

_As soon as she positioned herself stable on the board, just the tip of the board coming in contact with the water, the wave wiped her out, throwing her violently against the water. The wave was moving above her and she was sure she got whiplash since there was a throbbing pain running through her neck and numbness in her tongue. She didn't have time to react before her board was slammed into the back of her head from the momentum of the waves. Again, her vision became hazy and all she could make out was the cloudy, red suddenly merging with the ocean's blue. If she tried to scream, water flooded her lungs and if she tried to swim up to the surface, her head would ache in pain. Blackness soon started to take over her vision and she knew this was the end._

_It was the end until she caught something in the distance with the little vision she had left._

_Blue eyes. Glowing blue eyes that lit the darkened sea._

_They were getting closer to Beca but just as they were, she was fading out. Drifting away until she was left with darkness and those blue eyes were gone._

" _ **Let me help you."**_

_Those sweet, last four words were the last thing Beca heard before everything disappeared around her._

_**Present Time** _

"I-I uh…" Beca stuttered, eyes still locked with the girl in front of her as she shook her head. "I uh, woke up on shore not really knowing what happened except for the throbbing pain in the back of my head." Beca chuckled while Chloe smiled, gently rubbing the scar on the brunette's head just beneath her hair. "Jesse was there and the paramedics. They were asking me all these questions and I didn't remember like, any of them. The eyes and seeing my board wash up on shore was the only thing I remembered." The rubbing on Beca's head was stopped and those glowing blue eyes snapped down towards Beca's lips. With that weird gravity force, Beca was slowly moving closer to Chloe, eyes glancing down every now and then to her lips. "Those eyes...they were so blu-"

"I know," Chloe interrupted, whispering those words across Beca's lips.

Closing her eyes to close the distance, feeling Chloe's breath on her mouth was the last push she needed.

That was until their moment was cut short by Jesse violently waking up, screaming Beca's name to get out of the water. "Beca!" he yelled panicked, breaking both the girls up as he scurried to the edge of the rocks and reached out a hand for Beca to grab. "Get out of the water Beca before she kills you!"

Beca rolled her eyes and swam to where he was, despite wanting to stay right where she was. Swatting the hand he was reaching out for her, she lifted herself out of the water. Chloe was right about her being cold because once she got out, the warmth of the cave hit her numb skin, sending electrical chills up and down her body.

"Did she hurt you?!"

"N-n-no Jess-e-e." Beca shivered, trying to find warmth in her body as she cradled her legs up to her chest. Jesse seemed like he didn't know what to do and started panicking even more when he saw the mermaid swimming closer to where he and his sister were.

"You're cold." Chloe studied Beca's shivers from inside the water. "Hate to say I told you so." The redhead swam over to the siblings, but not without receiving a nasty scowled look from Jesse

"Stay away from her!" Jesse hissed and wrapped his arms around Beca, protecting her.

"Jesse, it's fine. She fine," Beca said, gently squeezing the tightened muscles in his arms.

"No Beca she is not fine! For fuck sakes she's a mermaid and not to long ago tried to kill us!"

Not trying to hide how annoyed she was, a scoff escaped from Chloe's mouth. "Correction. Aubrey tried to kill you." This earned a glare from Jesse.

"Jesus Jesse. Look who is scared now?"

Chloe smiled at the tiny brunette. "Let me help you."

Beca froze at these words that clicked something inside her that she couldn't figure out. "What did you say?" She was most certain that she heard those words before. She remembered the sincerity and promise those words held.

Jesse had to fight the urge in his body that didn't want Chloe to help his sister but Beca gave him that look that told him he could trust the redhead. He nodded his head at the mermaid and Beca crawled her way back into the water. Her body was numb and the coldness of the water didn't have any effect on the brunette.

"I'm going to go look for Luke. Maybe he is around the area." Jesse got up from his position and made his way to one of the cave's openings.

Honestly, Beca felt a little bad that she forgot about her friend. Truthfully, she sort of forgot about everything if she is being honest. The crash, the island, the boat, Luke. But could you blame her really? Already has she had an afternoon for the books and the day is far from being over. 

As he was leaving, he caught a glimpse of the brunette and blonde that was chasing him and Beca earlier, huddled together in the water at the corner of the cave. The blonde was draped over the brunette's arms, head hanging heavy in the water. She looked dead as her body hung motionless.

Jesse scoffed. "Serves her right."

The brunette with her super sonic hearing it seemed like, heard this immediately, twisting her head up fast with milky white eyes and fangs hanging out of her mouth to glare at Jesse. Without hesitation, he gulped and sprinted his way through the pathway, leaving the four behind.

Don't piss off the mermaids he guesses.

Back to where Chloe and Beca were,"trust me. You'll feel a shock at first since you've lost feeling in your body but it will fade." Beca nodded her head, mouth shuddering from the coldness.

With permission, Chloe lifted her hand and hovered it around the water the bordered Beca. Instantly, the water began to bubble and the coldness was slipping away. Beca winced at the shock her body received when warm water covered her skin. It didn't take long after when her body became use to it and relaxed her frozen muscles.

Beca quirked an eyebrow up suspiciously at Chloe when she felt her temperature fall back to normal. "Okay. Explain."

Once she removed her hand when the water got to a certain temperature, she sighed at Beca. "Thermokinesis," Was all Chloe said and it earned a look of confusion from Beca.

"Uh what?"

"Thermokinesis. It's the ability to heat water."

Beca nodded her head in understanding. "Power to turn anything into a hot tub. Got any turbos with it?" Beca tossed her a wink. Her muscles and limbs were starting to gain feeling again the longer she stood in the newly warmed up lake.

Joining Chloe in the laughs, she turned her head over to the blonde and brunette before responding. They were pretty far away but Beca could tell the brunette was upset about something.

"Can they do the same thing?" Beca asked, truly interested in the mermaids.

Chloe grabbed Beca's hand in her's and took her over to the ledge. After asking Beca if she was warm and her responding with a 'yes,' the redhead lifted her up onto the rocks so that Beca's legs were still hanging off into the water. Chloe quickly joined Beca on the ledge, tail sparkling once she got out. Beca traced Chloe's tail with her eyes, all the way up to her nude chest that was only being covered by long, wet red hair. Unlike before, Chloe didn't seem to care much about her tail and Beca being able to see it, which was a nice change. 

"We all have different abilities," Chloe announced, changing her stare from Stacie and Aubrey to Beca who was currently staring at her chest.

Beca quickly averted her eyes, scratching her neck in the process. "Uhh.." She coughed, trying to cover her embarrassment of just being caught by the redhead. "What did you say?"

Chloe laughed at the brunette's embarrassment slipping from her lips. "Don't sweat it. I'm basically naked in front of you. It's normal for someone's reaction to stare-though most of the time it's the horny sailors that wash up here and we have to deal with."

" _Stare? More like fantasize how good they'd feel under my palms;or how soft they were."_ Beca thought to herself, trying to not get wrapped up in the images too much. "Yeah sorry about that."

A sniffle from the brunette brought the two to turn their heads at the noise.

"As for all of us, we can control the weather."

Beca frowned at this remembering the storm that caused them here in the first place. "The b-boat and the tsunami?" she choked out. "That was you?"

The look in Chloe's eyes showed regret. All she could do was nod, not daring to look in Beca's direction.

Of course Beca was upset that Chloe was behind the boat crash and abnormal weather, but there had to be a reason, right? Tossing her thoughts to the back of her brain, she encouraged Chloe to continue.

"Stacie can cause a pain illusion with her mind towards anybody or anything. Their mind paints a picture of them being in intense pain, thus incapacitating them. The pain Stacie inflicts is excruciating and feels like a permanent 'burning' within the veins."

"Trust me, I know," Beca said with a snicker, trying not to remember how painful it was to be under Stacie's power. "I didn't know what was happening to me, but what I do know is that I would rather die than experience that pain again. It was literally torturous." Beca shook her head of the memory.

Chloe couldn't help but join when she saw the girl's smile. "Yeah, we have all experienced her wrath. Just don't piss her off anytime soon."

"Noted."

"Aubrey, as you know, can grow legs. She only has them for a certain amount of time until her tail grows back. She is the last resort when it comes to our… _prey_ ," Chloe whispered the last part, retracting her eyes away from Beca. "I want to tell you everything but I'd rather do it with them." Beca looked over to where the redhead was staring at to see the brunette and blonde again.

"Is she okay?" Beca asked when she saw the blonde not moving in the brunette's arms. Her body was limp, and lifeless, even after all this time.

"Aubrey? Yeah she is fine. Stacie just had to use her powers to stop Aubrey from hurting you and Jesse. She basically fainted due to fighting off the pain Stacie was causing. She is just exhausted," Chloe explained, not taking her eyes off the couple. "No matter how much she hates hurting her, she has to do it. Whenever Aubrey gets like that, she is the only one who can stop her. It kills me when I have to ask her to do so but imagine how Stacie feels, hurting the one person she loves. Hearing her scream in pain, pleading for Stacie to stop."

The tall brunette was now brushing the strands of blonde hair placed on Aubrey's face. Though Beca and Chloe were quite a distance away from the two, Beca could see drops of tears escaping Stacie's eyes.

"They were the sisters you were talking about before?" Chloe turned her head to Beca with a frown. She didn't want to think back to when she almost killed the tiny brunette.

"Yes and no." Chloe managed to get out before the noises of water splashing interrupted her sentence.

Aubrey woke up and Stacie cried even harder. Beca could tell the blonde was upset once she pounced from Stacie's arms and pushed her into the cave's wall, cornering her so she couldn't get by. Their words were mushed together but Aubrey's were loud and sharp as she yelled in Stacie's upset face.

Having enough, Stacie hissed back at the blonde, aggressively pushing her back. Their eyes were milky white but their teeth were still normal.

"What are you going to do Stacie?! Hurt me again?!" Beca heard the blonde's words directed towards Stacie. She didn't know if maybe Chloe should intervene before things got worse or something. But Chloe's engrossed stare on the two, not sporting any form of worry, informed her that this was normal between the two.

Stacie was trying to not choke on her sobs while she yelled back at the blonde who was currently looking like she was seconds away from killing the other mermaid.

Beca tried to hide her panic but failed miserably when she saw the fangs form within Stacie's mouth.

"Chloe, shouldn't you do something?" The redhead grabbed Beca's hand, intertwining their fingers as she gave it a quick squeeze. This movement instantly shut Beca up and she returned her gaze at the couple who was seconds away from killing each other to now, a couple who was now staring intently at one another. Eyes changed from white back to their normal glowing green and the blonde moved to wrap her hands around the brunette's neck.

Beca sighed at the picture, realizing that her and Chloe looked just like them moments ago. Well except for the amount of kissing the duo was now doing in front of her eyes.

"What the Hell Chloe?" Beca shrieked, tearing her eyes from the couple's lip lock to the redhead who was admiring the two. "Isn't that like incest or something?!" She didn't know how the mermaid world worked but it was still unacceptable to go around kissing your sisters.

"Oh stop, Beca. We are not blood related. The thing about the mermaid world is that if you're a merman, mermaid, fish, shark, or _whatever_ , you're all related somehow. Another thing to know is that you were also forbidden to fall in love. Merman with mermaid was okay but mermaid with mermaid was banned according to our father. They fell in love and we got punished, kicked out of our home actually." Chloe frowned, looking down into her hands. "Our dad was only banning Aubrey and Stacie but honestly, I couldn't imagine my life without my sisters." The redhead exhaled loudly. "So, I stood up to my dad and was kicked out with them."

Beca wanted to push the conversation, maybe ask why they chose to live here on this island. She had so many questions ask the redhead but she remembered specifically that Chloe wanted to wait for her sisters.

"Have you ever been in love?" Chloe asked all of a sudden, pulling Beca out of her thoughts. She was a little thrown off with the change in direction the conversation took and couldn't help but laugh a little when Chloe asked the question. "Seriously Beca. Have you ever been in love?"

"No," Beca sternly responded. "I don't believe in that sort of thing." She turned her head back to the couple who was still kissing. It was weird though. Even with Beca being a good distance away from them, she could still feel like passion and power behind the not so chaste kisses.

"Have you ever cried before? Cried for someone?"

She wanted to respond with something sarcastic like 'Who hasn't cried?" or 'I'm human aren't I?" But Beca knew Chloe was serious about her question. She really wanted to know. "Yes I have," Beca shyly answered. Maybe they weren't all good tears-actually, all of them mostly revolved around her mother.

"How was it?"

This was not the direction she saw the conversation going and wanted the next ticket out of sappy land ASAP. But the look that Chloe was sporting as they locked eyes, hands still intertwined within each other. Those glowing blue eyes burning two holes deep in Beca's soul. She knew Chloe was curious. That's probably why she she found herself pouring her heart out to the redhead.

"You know… there's a good cry and a bad cry. A cry that makes you feel refreshed after and a cry that breaks you down, every tear that rolls down your cheek. Personally, I've experienced more of the sad cries because after I feel like complete shit. But there were times, for example, when Jesse graduated high school or winning my first surfing competition that surprisingly brought some happy tears into my fucked up life. Have you never cried before?" Chloe didn't respond but her soft eyes did and Beca took it as a no.

"I've always wanted to but cry for the right reason. The right person." Chloe tilted her chin up towards Aubrey and Stacie. The blonde was giggling at something Stacie said, wiping the tears off her cheeks while Stacie ran her fingers through her hair. "I have a theory and that theory is that a person finally spills their tears when they fall in love. The good cries, not bad also," Chloe corrected. "The feelings present are so strong and a lone tear simply just brings the two closer together. Stacie is the strongest person I know and been around for quite a bit."

Beca opened her mouth to ask another question but once again, was stopped mid way by Chloe. "A hundred and twenty for the question you were about to ask."

Beca's eyes gaped open at Chloe's reveal. "Damn. You look great for your age!" She decided to joke, possibly lighten the mood a little bit.

Chloe barked out a laugh. A true laugh that Beca was just hearing for the first time and it was wonderful.

"Thanks but that's not the point. The point is that because Stacie is so strong, you would think that nothing would make her cry. She is basically titanium when you talk or look at her but she quickly turns to thin glass, brittle as brittle can be when it comes to Aubrey. The first time she ever cried was when she had to use her power on her, keeping Aubrey from raging against our father who A). was a lot stronger than the three of us combined and B). had an army of lurkers waiting to attack at any moment. When Aubrey collapsed, Stacie thought she killed her. That's when she broke and sobs poured past her iron guard and I finally realized that Stacie was normal- well compared to other mermaids, obviously. She was no longer this immortal warrior I had the pleasure of growing up with. Instead, she was in love. In love with that unconscious blonde she was holding in her arms as tears descended onto her skin." Chloe trailed her eyes down to their joined hands. "I want my first tears to be because I'm in love."

Extraordinary. That's what Chloe was.

Beca realized this when she watched the redhead next to her awe in the couple's direction, basically feeling the butterflies flutter in her stomach. When she gushed and bit her lip, adoring the interaction made her look absolutely adorable. Beca wanted nothing but to make Chloe's first tears memorable and though Beca has cried for her brother and she loves him more than the world, she has never been _**in**_ love. It would be a first for both of them.

"It was you."

Chloe snapped her head up, locking her eyes with Beca. "What?"

"You heard me," Beca repeated, curving her lips upward into a small smirk. "It was you. That day when I hit my head. The blue eyes I saw in the ocean. You saved me….. did you not?" It had to be. Beca could feel it.

"Yes-" Chloe admitted, smiling brightly at Beca. "What gave it away?"

"Welllllllllll-" Beca dragged out the word when she spoke. "I'd have to say those killer eyes you've got are kinda hard to forget, Red." Chloe tried to hide the blush that snuck its way to her cheeks at the new nickname Beca came up with but failed miserable. By hiding it, probably only made it worse. "I knew when I saw you for the first time on the island that I've seen you before sometime in my life. It was like some fucked up Deja vu or something."

"I didn't think it was true either until my singing didn't have the effect on you like it does with others." Beca was now confused and Chloe could tell by the way her eyebrows knitted together. "Beca… what me and my sisters do isn't something I'm proud of but it was the way we were raised and how we live. Before we were kicked out a long time ago, Demeter, who was the goddess of corn, harvest and grain, sent us on a mission to roam the ocean in look for her daughter Persephone who went missing. Coming back empty handed after hearing Hades, God of the underworld abducted her daughter, she put a curse on all three of us. That curse being that though our voices were beautiful and our songs would lure anybody in-in a hypnotizing trance of some sort, if anyone were to pass through the song with surviving, we would be the ones to end up where only fated to live until any mortal would be able to pass by us. That mortal being you Beca."

Beca felt her heart start to increase in beats and her chest started to heave up and down. "What's going to happen to you guys now?" Beca croaked out from her chest. "Kill me now Chloe! You guys don't have to die if you kill me! Just make sure it's fast and doesn't hurt to much, and also make sure Jesse knows unless you have to kill him too because-"

"Beca, chill!" Chloe yelled, stopping Beca from her rambling. "I'm not going to kill you, especially since I've known who you were for years now- even though if I still wanted to kill you, my voice wouldn't work on you. I don't know what exactly will happen or when, but I know we don't have much time until the curse kills all three of us."

"Let us help. Me, Jesse and Luke when we find him. I- I don't really know how but, I know for a fact I can't have you die. I couldn't live knowing that I was the cause."

"Beca, I don't really know how you're going to help. I don't even know if there is something to help."

"Chloe, please," Beca begged, moving her free hand to Chloe's cheek, turning her to pull her deeper into her eyes. "There has to be something that could help."

And with that, Chloe was shell-shocked. It wasn't that Beca was willing to help three mythical creatures attempt to break a curse after not killing them but, simply the fact that Beca was looking at her right now, with those big, dark blue eyes, pleading for Chloe to let Beca keep her safe. In that moment, Chloe had hope for her and her sisters. It wasn't a lot of it but it was enough for Chloe to give in and shake her head at Beca, falling under her begs.

Just like she said, there had to be something, right?


	7. Chapter 7

"Okay Chloe," Beca said, turning her body so one of her legs were bent on the edge of the rocks and she was looking directly at the side of Chloe's head.

At the sound of Beca's voice, Chloe turned her head to the side to make eye contact. Beca was wearing a small smile and her hair was at the phase where it wasn't wet anymore nor was it dry. Each strand was damp and pieces were sticking to Beca's sweaty forehead due to the humidity in the cave. There was a patch of dried up blood where the cut on Beca's head previously was at and her eyeliner was smeared all over her eyes and she looked like a straight up raccoon.

But a very cute raccoon, that's for sure.

 _Goodness this girl is beautiful._ Chloe thought silently to herself while she admired the tiny brunette beside her. The reflection of the water was shining brightly into her dark, navy blues, enough to blind the redhead with their beauty and she couldn't seem to tear her gaze away from them.

"Chloe?" The redhead hummed in response, still admiring the image in front of her. "Did you hear me?" Beca asked, knitting her eyebrows at Chloe. Honestly, Chloe didn't even realize the girl was talking to her because she was so entranced by her looks. "Why are you looking at me like that?" If it wasn't for the giggle that escaped the brunette's mouth, Chloe would've been embarrassed. She was just caught red handed staring at this girl, no doubt she wasn't drooling and if it were anybody else, they'd probably feel uncomfortable. But not Beca. She showed that by tightening her grip on their still conjoined hands and stayed smirking wider than ever.

Chloe shook her head, laughing at her ridiculous self and pushed some red hair gently behind her ear. "I'm going to be honest for just one sec, I didn't hear one word you just said."

"What were you doing? Day dreaming of me?" Beca joked, smirking even wider than before if possible.

_Oh if only she knew._

"Something like that." If Beca was going to play this charming, smart ass yet, super adorable persona then Chloe can join in as well. "What did you say?"

"Oh now you want to listen?" Beca playfully batted her eyelashes and Chloe nodded, tucking her bottom lip in between her front and bottom teeth. "Well too bad. That's what you get for not listening," Beca teased, tearing her eyes away from the redhead.

"Oh come on!" Chloe whined at Beca's stubbornness. She placed her head on the brunette's shoulder, waiting for Beca to budge and tell her. "I'm sorry!"

"My words are precious and _wayyyy_ too valuable to be taken advantage of, Red." Being on Beca's shoulder, Chloe could feel the smirk on Beca's face stretch across her face through her neck.

"Please? I'll listen this time," Chloe begged but Beca didn't budge. With that, she decided to bring out the big guns. Hooking a finger under Beca's chin and twisting her head so she was look into Chloe's glowing blue eyes, "please?"

Beca rolled her eyes, unable to keep up her stubborn attitude when she looked into Chloe's eyes. "Already found my kryptonite, Red." Chloe smiled proudly and urged Beca to continue with what she was saying. Beca exhaled slowly, "I said, why did you save me that day in the ocean? You could've easily let me drown or Hell, have me for a midday snack."

"Oh Beca, you're the size of a sea cucumber and definitely wouldn't substitute for a snack." Beca scoffed and rolled her eyes, one hundred percent not digging the small jokes Chloe kept bashing on her. "But that wasn't why I saved you," she said in all seriousness. "When I saw you knocked out under the water, eyes heavy and blood floating out of the bump on the back of your head, I felt something. Something I have never felt before and it was weird. I've experienced humans multiple times, as you know, and the feeling I felt throbbing through my gut was a feeling I've never had towards any other person or thing before. I never even felt it towards Aubrey or Stacie and though I was created to kill, I went with my gut feeling and saved you. Turns out, that gut feeling I saved ended up boating on our sea and crashing into our home years later."

"You're welcome." Beca slipped sarcastically, earning an eye roll from the red head. "I think what's going on here is that you're trying to tell me you are attracted to me. Am I right?"

"I-I don't know. I've never felt it before. Attraction, love, admiration. I've never e-experienced any of those things. My dad never explained anything to me before the... _ugh_!" Chloe groaned and leaned back on the rocks violently. Her tail on her movement thrashed through the cave's water, splashing Beca in the face on impact.

"Argh," Beca wiped the water droplets off her face. "Chloe. I got out of the water to _NOT_ be wet. Now I'm soaked again." Chloe peaked through the crack in her arm that laid over her eyes and saw the mess her tail created all over Beca. She sat up and tucked her tail under the water in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," Chloe apologized, biting her lip to stop her from laughing. She couldn't help that Beca looked adorable when she pouted. "Sometimes my tail has a mind of it's own. I hate it."

"Why?" Beca asked, genuinely curious. She wiped off more water that was splashed on her face.

"Are you serious?" Chloe's tone didn't go unnoticed by Beca. It made her wonder if she hit a soft spot in Chloe. "You're seriously asking why I hate my tail? If you didn't notice already, I'm a mermaid! When I was younger, before I was cursed to kill mortals, I was out swimming with the dolphins and all those other cliche fucking mermaid fantasies and I saw some girls on shore around the same age as myself. I didn't understand what I was and people in my land always looked to me like I was normal. But being as delusional as always, when I swam up to those girls building sand castles on the beach and laughing at jokes they would tell one another, all I wanted to do was join them and do something I never had the chance to do under water. I wanted to be able to play with friends on the beach and live a normal kid's life, but you know what they did? They screamed. Screamed like they just saw a shark or something but turns out, they saw something much worse. I was confused and kept yelling at them 'It's okay, I just want to play,' and they would just scream 'monster!" Tears fell from Chloe's eyes and Beca felt her's getting watery at the story.

Even after all this time, their hands were still linked together so taking advantage of that, Beca grazed her thumb over Chloe's, letting her know that she was there and not leaving anytime soon.

Chloe blew out a deep breath, fighting back her tears so she continue to talk, "Their parent's, I'm assuming, didn't know what the little girls were screaming about until they saw my tail. The mom sprinted to the girls and pulled them up onto shore, farther away from me while their dad, reached into his backpack and grabbed what I think was a pocket knife because the blade was too small to be anything bigger and threw it at me. Even if the knife hit me directly, which it didn't, it wouldn't of done much damage but still the little contact from the blade cut me pretty good." Chloe straightened up her back and looked down to her side, pointing at a scar placed on her oblique just above her tail with her free hand. It was a thick scar and spread a good distance on her skin. "It stung like no other but no pain would never come close to the pain I felt after hearing those petrified screams directed towards me, yelling that there was a creature on shore and to shoot it immediately. At that moment, I finally believed those two girls. I was a _monster_."

The moment Beca blinked, the tears that were filling up her eyes escaped and rolled down her cheek, one by one. "Chloe I-I don't think you're a -"

"Stop Beca!" Chloe yelled and Beca flinched at her volume. "Don't lie to me and say that I'm not some disgusting creature!" The redhead sobbed and when she opened her eyes, they were that blinding white color. Beca knew she was angry and hit a soft spot. "When I went back home, my dad instantly saw my injury and forbidden me to go above waters. I didn't care honestly. Why would I? I wasn't wanted up there anyways." Chloe snapped bitterly. "Those girls in that moment fueled my hate for any mortals. It was actually easy to kill with that on my mind and made the curse a little easier but you can only hold a grudge for so long. It soon faded and I once again felt guilty murdering because when I actually thought about it, I realized that all this time and as a kid, I wanted to be normal. I wanted to live a life that I thought I was created for but instead, I was killing innocent people. What was normal about that? I now know that I will never live that normal teenage girl life because I'm stuck with this-" Chloe lifted her tail up from the water as droplets fell from the bottom. "-and nothing about this doesn't scream freak." She sat her tail back slowly in the water and wiped some more tears off her face.

Beca sat there beside Chloe stunned at what just happened. She would never be able to experience how Chloe feels or what she went through but one thing was, she knew she wasn't a freak.

"Hey," Beca broke the silence with a whisper but the redhead didn't respond. Instead she kept her eyes on the water and her head down. "Hey?" Still no response. "Chloe, look at me," Beca's sternness made Chloe give in and she slowly cocked her head to the side, making eye contact with Beca. "You are not a freak." Chloe rolled her eyes and scoffed like what Beca said was the stupidest thing she has ever heard. "I'm being honest. Yeah you might have a tail and it's kinda hard to grasp when you first lay eyes on it, but I think it's pretty dope."

"Dope?" Chloe asked, uncertain about Beca's choice of words.

"Yeah it means cool. Awesome. I personally really like your tail." Beca removed her hand from Chloe's and grazed her fingertips along the fragile scales molded together on the redhead's tail. It was silky and smooth to the touch, like the feel of cool, calm ocean water. Beca could feel Chloe stiffen when her fingers met that part of her body but she soon relaxed when she felt Beca rub her hand up and down. "It matches your eyes." Chloe was engrossed with the brunette who was looking down at her tail and Beca could feel her eyes burning a hole through the side of her head. Lifting her eyes, she locked on with Chloe's milky orbits. "Well….. it matches your pretty _blue_ eyes."

Chloe laughed, rolling her eyes back. This time when her eyes met Beca's, they were that glowing blue again.

"There we go!" Beca gushed when she saw those familiar blues. Chloe blushed at Beca's compliment and gave the tiny brunette a smile. "You are not a freak Chloe. You're something so far from that."

"That's funny that you say that since I recall that the first time we met, you were basically in shock when you laid eyes on me. Tell me not that you didn't think I was some freak creature or something."

"I wasn't in shock because of your tail." Chloe squinted her eyes, not believing a single word the brunette was saying.

"And what was it that made you incoherent?" Chloe asked, chiefly. She kept an unamused face the whole time.

"It was how beautiful you are." Chloe knitted her eyebrows and scrunched her brows together, a little taken back by Beca's choice of words. Honestly, she wasn't expecting that at all; or at least those choice of words. "Jesus Chloe. You honestly don't understand how jaw dropping you are." Beca's volume increased, hoping to get her message out to the oblivious redhead sitting next to her. "I've only been around for twenty one years, not nearly as long as you, of course-" Chloe giggled, biting her lip so she could keep her grin under control, "-but in those years, I've never laid eyes upon someone as gorgeous as you and I probably never will. That's why I was in shock. I barely even noticed your tail…I mean I _did_ notice it, eventually, but that was only a slight distraction from those deadly, blue weapons you call eyes. Seriously Chloe, do you own a mirror?" Chloe shook her head no. "Well I guess that's a good thing. You'd probably end up breaking it….WITH YOUR LOOKS! Good looks; like super good looks. Not bad…..looks…" Beca awkwardly tried to cover up. Chloe laughed louder, totally amused by Beca's adorable ramble.

"You Chloe, are dangerously alluring."

The heart in Chloe's chest grew two sizes and she found herself tearing up again. But this time when tears started to fill her eyes, she didn't feel pain or sadness she usually felt when she cried. For the first time ever, she was on the verge of those happy tears she has only dreamt about experiencing. And after staring into those cloudy blue eyes, Chloe realized that this girl, Beca, could one day be the reason behind her tears.

Out of her long lived existence, she finally felt loved.

"Yes."

"What?" Beca was confused on Chloe's random outburst.

"I'm very much attracted to you." Chloe smiled and took no time for that smirk she's come to love so much reappear on Beca's lips. Her smirk had to be Chloe's new favorite thing to look at.

"BECA!"

Jesse voice echoed through the cave, interrupting Beca and Chloe's moment. Without hesitation, Beca rushed to stand up, and already started running her way through the cave to follow her brother's voice.

Chloe watched the girl run through one of the openings until her figure disappeared in the darkness. She threw herself in the cave's lake, dunking her torso under the water and swam over to her sisters.

Chloe emerged up from the water, surprising her sisters with her appearance "Hey, is Jesse okay?"

"Who?" Stacie had absolutely no idea who Chloe was talking about. Her hands were wrapped around Aubrey's waist and she was also sporting a confused look on her face.

Chloe scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Jesse? Beca's brother. Stacie, you were five seconds away from devouring him."

"Oh!" Stacie gasped at realization. "Hunk number 1? Yeah I don't know Chlo, maybe he drowned or something." The brunette's attention was lost as she was kissing up Aubrey's jaw. The blonde was just as unfocused as Stacie's since she was basically on the verge of exploding when Stacie kissed closer down her cheek and to her neck.

Enough of watching the two lovebirds, "guys seriously!" Chloe violently slammed her fists against the water, startling her two sisters. "Beca seemed worried and I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to either of them," she interrupted, watching them break apart.

"Oh I know," Aubrey said, eyes dark with lust when she opened them. "I think goofy boy found hunk number 2."

Chloe took in Aubrey's mischievous grin and panic flooded her body instantly. It wasn't until both her sisters erupted into a fit of sinister giggles that her body went into full blown panic mode

"Aubrey…. what the _Hell_ did you do?"

* * *

Beca's chest heaved up and down as she ran her way through the cave. While she ran, she'd step on multiple sharp objects almost making her collapse on impact. The cave was super dark and she had absolutely no navigation to where she was going but Jesse seemed to be in danger. She had to find her brother to make sure he was okay before anything else happened.

"Jesse!" Beca shouted through the cave. It echoed down the pathways for centuries it felt like but eventually when it ended, she got no response from her younger brother.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of light emerging from one of the cave's rooms. Running her way over to the light, she was greeted by a room that looked a lot like the room she previously was in but only smaller. And instead of beautiful, shimmering crystals hanging from the cave's ceiling and floor, they were replaced by skeleton bones. Beca thought she just snapped on a brittle rock or something but when she went down to look at it, she realized it was infact bones from a human body.

Beca's eyes gaped at the new discovery of the items covering the floor. She shrieked and threw the bone she picked up from the ground into the water.

"JESSE!" She was at an all time high with panic. What if these bones on the ground were her brother's and he was dead or something? "JESSE!" Beca screamed again, standing up to walk around the dimly lit cave room.

"Beca!" She turned her body at her brother's voice and saw the boy in the corner of the room on a pile of rocks. When she ran over to her brother she noticed that he wasn't alone.

"Luke!" The blonde lifted up his head at Beca's voice and gave her a shy smile.

"Hey Becky." Beca ran over and crashed down onto the blonde, crushing him in an aggressive hug. He chuckled at Beca's motion and honestly was a little shocked since Beca was anti physical contact whatsoever. Luke lifted up his dirty arm from the rocks and hugged the tiny brunette back until he winced in pain when Beca's knee hit a certain spot on his leg.

"Oh my God!" Beca flew back at his cry and noticed that the blonde boy was bleeding on his thigh. "You're bleeding Luke! What happened?"

Luke straightened his body, flinching in pain when he had to change the position of his leg. "Well you see..." He winced again when Beca placed her hand on his injury. She couldn't tell what type of injury it was but could tell that it was serious with the amount of blood layered over his thigh. Luke lifted up the bottom of his swim trunks so Beca and Jesse could get a better look. Beca swiped off her tank top, quickly, and hurried to the cave's water, placing the piece of clothing in so it could soak up the liquid.

Finally when the shirt was drenched and heavy with water, she made her way back over to Luke and placed the wet clothing on his thigh. Salt water was wrung out of her tank top and onto the injury and Luke let out an ear piercing cry, his nails dug into the rocks and his teeth clenched tightly in his mouth. Jesse was squeezing his shoulder in comfort, hopefully distracting him from the pain. After a while, Beca lifted her shirt off of his thigh when it was covered in blood and examined Luke's leg. When she got closer she noticed that it wasn't just an ordinary cut or gash. It was a perfect circle of multiple deep holes, resembling a lot like a bite from an animal of some sort.

"When I woke.." Luke grunted out. His breaths loud and laboured, "-up from the boat crash-" He winced again from the salt water spreading through his leg, "-I woke up here and when I woke up, I wasn't alone. In there-" He pointed over to the cave's water where Beca dipped her tank top and the siblings followed his finger, "-was a girl. A beautiful blonde girl and at that moment, I thought I died and was experiencing my first angel or something. She started singing and at first I thought what the fuck is going on? But then it felt like the lyrics were putting me under some sort of a spell." Luke placed his hand back down to his side.

"Being unable to control my body, I made my way over to the water where the blonde was. Just as I made it to the edge, I saw something beneath the water. After all the child books and mythical reading my parents would read me, I knew exactly what this blonde was. She wasn't an angel and though the stories I was told stated mermaids were harmless, this girl wasn't. I knew that when I looked up from the water and she was leaning into my neck with a mouth full of razor sharp fangs and eyes ghostly white. On instinct, I jumped back into the rocks and started crawling backwards while the blonde just growled and stared at me like a lion does his prey. All I needed to do was get far enough away from the water since mermaids can't go on land. That was until she lifted herself out from the water and her tail I saw early was non existent. Instead she had two, human legs just like mine and yours and she was running at me full speed. I tried to get up and run but she snatched my ankle before I could and took a chunk right out of my fucking leg!" Luke winced at the memory, causing his leg to continue throbbing in pain.

"Then all of a sudden, this horrible, ear piercing screech echoed through the cave and I collapsed at the ringing pain spreading through my ears, not being able to stand or move any longer. When I looked up, she was gone and the screeching was muted. I don't know guys..." Luke shook his head in disbelief. "She was some fucking weird freak of nature-"

Before Luke could finish his sentence, Beca intervened with a finger pointed towards his face. "Hey!" Beca snapped defensively. "Don't call them that!

Taken back by this sudden defensive side of Beca, "what?!" Luke was confused at Beca's switch in behavior all of a sudden.

"Awh, Beca." A sweet voice gushed behind the group, interrupting the conversation.

Jesse, Beca and Luke immediately twisted their heads around towards the direction the mystery voice came from. When they turned and looked back at the cave's water, Chloe, Aubrey and Stacie were floating in the middle watching them intently. Chloe was wearing a beaming smile and Stacie was just focused on Aubrey who was two seconds away from killing all three of them.

Widening his eyes once he saw who was in the water, Luke started pulling away from Beca and Jesse as fast as he could without damaging his leg any farther. "That's her!" he shrieked terrified, fear lacing his words as he started backing out of Jesse's hold.

Chloe and her sisters started migrating closer to the group while Luke and his terrified filled eyes moved farther and farther away from the mermaids. Beca instantly felt better about the whole situation and Luke when she was faced with Chloe's gleaming smile. Crawling her way over to the ledge to meet the redhead halfway, she stopped when she was face to face with Chloe.

"You stood up for us…. my sisters," Chloe whispered through her face size grin.

Beca mirrored her smile and leaned in closer. "Because I meant everything that I said back there. You guys are everything but freaks and I'll keep reminding you until it gets pass that feisty, red mane of yours."

Chloe's cheeks glowed in vibrant red and her smile doubled in size. Beca would definitely be the death of this girl.

She was sure of it.

"Someone shut this imbecile up before I do it myself!" Aubrey snapped while Luke's shrieks of 'help' echoed throughout the cave.

Beca bit her lip and took in Chloe's smile one last time before turning her body and walking back over to her friend. She squatted next to Luke who was screaming bloody murder and placed a calming hand on his shoulder to ease his panic. "Luke, calm down," Beca said easy and calm, not wanting to startle the blonde anymore. "They're not going to hurt us. We are okay."

"Like Hell we aren't going to hurt you," Aubrey sneered, rolling her eyes in the process.

Stacie bit her cheek to keep her from laughing and smacked Aubrey on the stomach. Chloe heard this and snapped her head at her sister, sporting a scowl that could kill. With that look, Aubrey muted all extra comments she had.

"Beca, they're fucking killers! Did you forget that my fucking leg is half gone?!"

"Oh keep whining….. _mate,_ " Aubrey said, mimicking the boy's British accent. Smirking back at him, "I'll be happy to amputate it if you'd like?"

"Aubrey!" Chloe hissed, completely finished with Aubrey's smart ass comments.

Aubrey held her hands up to surrender but still keeping that smug grin on her face. "Sorry, sorry! I'll stop."

"Luke trust me, they are not going to do anything. The pissy blonde that looks like there's a stick up her ass," Amused, Beca snapped her eyes over to where Aubrey was floating. "I'm not too sure about but the other two, they're safe."

Aubrey quirked at this comment made directly towards her over to her sister. "Chloe! Aren't you going to yell at her for instigating!? She just insulted me!"

Chloe turned to her sister and shrugged, failing to hide the slight hint of amusement within her lips at Beca's comment. Stacie was also getting a kick out of this scene, watching Aubrey get lectured by Chloe like she was a kid about to go to timeout.

Luke wasn't replying to Beca, nor was he even locking eyes with her. He kept his focus straight on the three mermaids in the water.

"Trust me, Luke," Beca pleaded genuinely.

"She's right." Chloe chimed into the conversation, lifting her arms up on the ledge and resting her head on her forearms. "You have something wrong with your leg?" she asked, noticing the blood starting to surface on his thigh. She waited for an answer from the blonde but instead, he just stared at her, fear covering ear to ear.

Chloe sighed and decided to lift herself up from the water and onto the rocks. She dragged her body and tail against the gravel of the cave and made her way over to Beca and the boys. They weren't that far out of water but it was still a good distance where Chloe had a hard time moving.

"Chloe don't! Get back in the water!" Beca rushed to Chloe, already getting ready to toss the redhead back into the water. She didn't know what would happen when a mermaid who can't surface above water is out in the open but she knew it wouldn't be good.

Chloe held up her hand to stop Beca from grabbing onto her. "No Beca it's fine." Beca scrunched her face at the redhead. She didn't want Chloe getting hurt for trying to save her friends-even though he did need serious medical attention. "Really, it's fine. I can't be on land as long as Aubrey but…. enough to help your friend."

The mermaid picked up a sharp rock from the ground and moved it into her hand, slicing her palm in the movement. She winced at first but as soon as the blood spilled from the newly opened cut, she dropped the rock and sighed. "Can I?" Chloe asked the petrified blonde who's eyes were the size of basketballs, gesturing down towards his wound.

Luke titled his head to the side so he could look behind the redheaded mermaid and get a look at Beca. When they locked eyes, Beca's lips curved into a small reassuring smile and she gave Luke a faint nod to her head. Sighing and moving back to his original position, he nodded at the redhead, giving his consent.

With the blonde's consent, Chloe hovered her injured hand over Luke's thigh. She gently squeezed her palm until a tiny droplet of blood descended its way to Luke's open wound. It took a while but soon, the deep holes that were on Luke's thigh slowly faded away until there was nothing but smooth skin. Luke looked up at Chloe shocked at what just happened, what she just did to his leg and all she did in return was smile.

Beca also smiled at the interaction but soon noticed that Chloe's skin color was turning pale. She didn't understand why until Chloe's tail flapped up and down against the rocks

"Hey Red. You're starting to look like a fish out of water." Beca laughed at her own joke and was soon joined by Chloe's.

Beca moved her way to the redhead and helped the girl back into the water. Once Chloe's skin and tail came in contact with the liquid, her skin transformed back into her normal, shimmering color with that sparkling pale tint.

"Okay!" Jesse made his voice obvious and overly obnoxious. "Now that we are best friends and all, care to tell us what you girls are doing on some random island in the first place?"

"We live here…. _duh_. I could ask you guys the same thing," Stacie snapped back at Jesse, squinting her glowing green eyes.

"Like I told Beca, we moved here after our father kicked us out of our sea. Before here, we lived in Carpi,which was in Italy. We didn't actually live IN Italy, just outside of it…. in the water…. obviously." Beca smiled like a schoolgirl at Chloe's adorableness. Jesse and Luke though, didn't think it was as cute.

"Ummm-" The redhead thought for a second. "-Achelous, who was chief of all rivers and also our father was King of the sea where we use to live. We aren't related by blood but technically under his rules, we are. I personally don't care because I think of Aubrey and Stacie as my real sisters." Chloe sighed and looked up towards the two boys who were patiently waiting for more of the mermaid's stories.

This went on for a while and Chloe explained everything that she told Beca to the boys.

"So you two-" Luke pointed towards Aubrey and Stacie,"-are dating? And that's why you were kicked out?" Aubrey and Stacie nodded their heads in unison. "Okay and now, since we all survived your guy's song-well Beca did, you are now fated to die? Because of the curse?" All three of the mermaids nodded their heads this time.

"Is there anything we can do to help you guys?" Jesse asked, genuinely concerned about the mermaid's lives. Beca instantly felt good knowing that Jesse and Luke trusted Chloe and her sisters even after almost killing them.

"No sadly," Stacie muttered under her breath. "We will probably fucking rot to death before we even come up with something, _IF_ there even is something."

"Not true." It was Aubrey's turn to chip into the conversation. "This morning when I was watching the sunset, I got this weird feeling in my gut like something bad was going to happen. Kind of like Deja Vu or something. That bad something was of course being that we'd run into some mortals and whatever reason why, our songs didn't work. Trusting my gut with this, I swam the seas to meet with a good friend of mine, Cynthia, who is a sea witch. Chloe and Stacie don't know her but she works with spells and potions. I knew that if I told her my weird vision sort of thing, she'd know what to do. That's why I was gone all morning and day."

Chloe and Stacie nodded in understanding.

"She told me if whatever I felt was true, to go back to her home and she'd create some sort of potion or something with some of my blood. Since I can grow human legs, she could use a bit of my power to create a cure. A cure for all three of us."

"L-like we'd be n-n-normal? Not mermaids a-anymore?" Chloe was barely able to choke out and Beca instantly felt her heart grow three sizes at her oozing excitement for once.

Aubrey's face automatically stretched into a smile and Chloe didn't waste anytime mirroring it. "She doesn't know for sure if it will work, nor did she know how long we have to spare until the curse kills us. She said at the latest, we have forty eight hours-"

"But there might be something…. something to cure us!" Hope and faith poured out of Chloe's eyes and pores. Aubrey smiled at the joy spreading through her sister and nodded.

"Baby!" Stacie gushed, taking Aubrey's cheeks into her hands and bringing her into a passionate kiss.

Chloe's tail thrashed in happiness while she turned to look at Beca who was showing the same amount of enthusiasm. Beca bit her bottom lip and shrugged her shoulders.

"Then that's it," Jesse added. "You girls will set sail tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope...there is hope! :D You also got introduced to Cynthia Rose WOO! Next chapter will for the majority, take place in Aubrey's Chloe's and Stacie's POV.  
> Will the girls be able to make it in time?  
> Review and send me your thoughts! Love hearing what you guys think.


	8. Chapter 8

This was great.

The mermaids would leave at sunrise to search the entire sea for the witch, who hopefully would be able to construct a kind of potion which would cure Chloe, Stacie and Aubrey of their mermaid form. The curse, the King, Demeter, everything would be nothing but the past and only there to tell stories about.

There wouldn't be anymore deaths, kidnappings or songs that would lure people in. Chloe and her sisters would be saved from the curse and even possibly human.

So why was Beca uneasy about the whole situation?

"Hey Becs?"

A sweet voice brought Beca out of her intense thoughts and back to reality. Turning her head to the direction of the water, Chloe was leaning against the edge with her chin rested on her crossed arms placed above the rocks. Her glowing blue eyes had an extra bloom to them and they were staring intently at the tiny brunette.

Beca was still a little nervous about the whole potion thing because what if it didn't work? If it didn't work, Chloe and her sisters would be dead and that would leave Beca with nobody and also be responsible for the problem in the first place. Beca thinks the redhead could sense this uneasiness since now under those glowing blue eyes was a thick layer of concern.

Unable to resist the adorableness of the mermaid, Beca positioned her body so she was facing the redhead. "Hey." She smiled at Chloe and that was able to ease the concern off her body a little bit. Chloe instantly returned the smile, lighting up the cave with her beaming set of teeth.

"Are you okay?" she asked with so much worry, basically biting one's nail waiting for the response.

Beca sighed and moved closer to the redhead and dipped her legs back into the water. Chloe took advantage of this movement and removed her chin from her rocks and switched it to Beca's thigh, looking a lot like a dog begging for food. The laughs emerging from Beca's chest made Chloe's head bounce up and down on her leg.

"God you're adorable." Beca admired the girl leaning on her thigh, brushing her hand through the damp red hair. "But yes, I'm okay."

Chloe leaned into the touch where Beca's hand were combing through. "Becaaa."

She knew the redhead wasn't buying her lie. Releasing a heavy sigh, "Okay fine, maybe I'm not okay."

"Why?" Chloe asked with sad eyes.

"I'm really happy about the news and everything but, there's just something in my gut that tells me it's too good to be true. I don't want to lose you and before you think I'm a creeper because I've only known you for like….. three hours.." Chloe lightly giggled at Beca. They may have only talked to each other for three hours but Chloe has known the girl for years. "But I feel a connection towards you that I haven't experienced with anybody else. Not even Jesse or Luke."

Chloe lifted her hand from the water and searched for Beca's other hand that wasn't brushing through her hair and intertwined their fingers. "We have no other choice. It's either that or rot to death. The connection you're feeling isn't some supernatural force or whatever you think it is because truthfully, I feel it too. Actually, I've felt it since the day I saw you surfing in the ocean. I can't promise you that the potion will work nor will I. But I am sincere with my words when I say that I have a deep feeling for you Beca, and I don't really know what it is. If I do make it out of this alive, I want to look more into this feeling you know? With you….. I mean if you want! I don't want to push anything or make you feel obligated to stay with me but now it's implied and oh my God I shouldn't of said anything and-"

Beca barked into a fit of laughter, interrupting the redhead's ramble. There was no lie that Beca thought Chloe's babbles were the cutest thing ever and this example definitely made it to Beca's top ten of favorite things to hear.

Calming her laughter, she focused her eyes on the redhead still currently on her leg who had a shy smile stretched along her face. "I would be honored to look more into your feelings, Red." Beca shot Chloe a wink and made the redhead melt inside. Chloe hummed in satisfaction and returned a nod to Beca. "Uhhh Chloe?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think we could get out of this cave for a bit? It's kind of muggy in here and I don't think Luke and Jesse can handle the amount of bones surrounding them any longer without having a heart attack," Beca said, hiding the amusement on her face as she watched her brother and friend.

Chloe lifted her head from Beca's leg and focused her eyes on the two boys who were currently maneuvering through the objects on the ground like they were playing that lava game you'd play as a child when you couldn't touch the ground.

Aubrey and Stacie already went back to the mermaid's home after the news about the potion, claiming that the blonde had to collect a few things before they set off. With that, Chloe didn't see any harm with getting some fresh air.

Deciding it was for the best, Chloe nodded her head. "Yeah sure! Follow me!"

* * *

The group followed Chloe throughout the cave until they finally made it back onto the shore. After running away from Aubrey and trying to find Luke, the group made it so far deep in the cave that if it wasn't for Chloe, they'd be screwed.

Once they were outside, Beca's lungs expanded when the smell of ocean, fresh air and rain from the storm earlier flooded her nostrils and the slight breeze from the wind grazed her damp, pale cheeks and exposed skin. After cleaning Luke's leg up, she practically ruined her tank top, only leaving her in a black and light blue bikini top.

Chloe emerged from the middle ocean by the three placed rocks since she had to swim under the cave to stay in water. Immediately when surfaced, she was mesmerized by Beca's toned body and how the stars and moon's light reflected off her dirty yet beautiful pale skin.

Beca caught the redhead staring from the distance and waved her arm in the air, gesturing towards the blue ocean water. "I'm going to rinse off!" she yelled across the water to where the redhead was still intently admiring the tiny brunette.

Chloe smiled and flipped her a thumbs up before Beca took a rubber band off her wrist and threw her hair up in a pony tail. After her hair was up, she reached down for the button on her shorts, pulling them down in a swift motion to reveal a matching pair of swim bottoms like her bikini top.

Managing and thick gulp after watching Beca undress, Chloe watched the half naked brunette trot her way into the dark blue water until she was chest deep. Chloe could see the air taken right out of her chest when Beca entered the chilled substance with a loud gasp and quickly wrapping her hands around her chest for warmth. It took a while but eventually, Beca got use to the temperature and leaned down to scoop up some water so she could throw it over her face.

Watching Beca was like watching a dog walk on its hind legs. It was surreal how gorgeous one person could get and magical how by one look it could simply send Chloe's body into peaceful, dazed coma. Beca physically put Chloe into a deep trance and that was only by looking at her from a distance.

What really made Chloe's heart flutter was how happy Beca seemed. It was the first real time she saw a smile that big stretch across that brunette's face since the time she has spent on this island. She resembled a kid on Christmas, opening a present from Santa and was greeted with exactly what they wished for. It was pure joy erupting from that tiny little body and observing that sent Chloe's body into a pile of unknown emotions that she has never felt before.

"You're in love." Chloe's daze quickly snapped by the unknown voice, causing her to jump violently back into one of the three rocks, clasping her hand to her chest in fear.

Steadying down her breathing, she turned her head to the voice, wide eyed and was greeted by her blonde sister. "Jesus Bree! You can't sneak up on me like that!" Chloe wheezed out, still trying to return her breathing to normal.

"You didn't answer my question," Aubrey spoke deadpan. "You're in love with her."

Chloe rolled her eyes at Aubrey's assumption and flicked her gaze back and forth between Beca who was still rinsing off her body and her sister who was staring at Chloe like a hawk.

"One, that wasn't even a question. It sounded more like a statement and two, that statement is wrong."

"Really?" Aubrey batted her eyelashes slowly at the redhead. " You're going to deny your feelings when I just caught you basically undressing the little clothing the girl has on with your eyes?"

"I was not undressing her with my eyes, Bree. I was simply just watching her." Chloe returned her gaze back onto the brunette.

Beca paused her movements and stilled her body when she caught an object floating towards her underneath the water. It was dark outside and the moon's light reflecting off the water was making it hard to pinpoint what it was but with the little focus she had, it looked like a shark's fin.

Suddenly, the fin dipped back into the water, leaving Beca to silently panic as she slowly backed away from where she saw the mysterious object. In a matter of seconds, something brushed up against her leg, feeling a lot like a shark's tail and erupted her body into a loud yelp.

"Shark!" Beca screamed, running her way back onto shore. "Jesse! Luke! Get out of the water before it….gets...you-" As she looked over to where Jesse and Luke were at in the ocean, she saw the boys howling in laughter, clutching their stomachs in pain as tears basically fell from their eyes.

Stopping herself from running, she looked back to where she previously was and saw Stacie and her glowing green eyes, biting her lip to keep her from exploding into a fit of laughter as well. She lifted her hand from the water and waved her hand guilty in Beca's direction.

"Awh!" Jesse cooed, still laughing roughly from the joke Stacie pulled on her. "Did big bad Beca get scared?"

Beca flipped the boy off annoyed at his and Luke's laughter and swam her way back to Stacie. Once she was face to face with the devil herself, she swiped the water violently, splashing the mermaid in the face.

Chloe watched the whole interaction and giggled to herself when she saw Stacie hover her hand over the water and create a big wave to throw in Beca's face, getting some pay back after the tiny brunette splashed water in her's.

"You know," Aubrey spoke calmly, also watching the two brunette's interact. Beca was dunked under the water by the force behind the giant wave and emerged several seconds later with a mouth full of it, spluttering out all the salt water that got trapped inside. "I didn't think it was possible to fall in love either.

Back at Beca, "that's not fair! You and your fucking mermaid powers!" Beca spit out the water from her mouth and whined back at the laughing mermaid in front of her.

"Our life, we never really were taught how to love or even what it feels like. We were created to kill and taught to only kill. Every other emotion besides hate and evil were practically nonexistent." Chloe turned her head back to her sister, locking glowing blue with green. "I even had it set that I was never going to fall in love or be loved by someone else because I was…..different. Who would ever love a mermaid right? We are basically fish that can sing and have tits." Chloe rolled her eyes and laughed. Mirroring the laugh, Aubrey continued. "I lost all hope in that area and was so focused on pleasing our father that I never put myself first."

Aubrey broke her stare with the redhead and turned it back to Beca and Stacie who were currently talking about something in the water but were too quiet to catch what it was. Beca and Stacie broke into a mischievous smile while the mermaid pointed her hand in the direction where the boys were at, creating a small whirlpool that aggressively sent them spinning in circles.

"That was until I met Stacie." Aubrey said, watching Stacie and Beca howl with cackles and Luke screaming that he was going to be sick from spinning so much. Shaking her head at her girlfriend's immaturity level, Aubrey looked back at Chloe who was still staring at her closely. "I didn't know what that feeling in my body was and truthfully, it scared the shit out of me. I thought I was loosing my mind!" Chloe snickered softly. "But it wasn't until Stacie cried into my shoulder the first time she used her powers on me that I realized I wasn't losing my mind. With a guess, I assumed it was that I was falling in love with this girl and all it took was a light kiss to prove that assumption right." Aubrey smiled at the memory she had between her and Stacie. "I'm not going to sit here and accuse you of being in love because really, only you will know that answer. What I am going to say is if you even….for the slightest moment think you might have feelings for this girl, go with that hunch. I promise you that it's better to try and be wrong then to not and say what if."

With that, Aubrey started drifting away from the stunned redhead and closer to the the group messing around in the water.

Chloe clenched her jaw and thought long and hard about what Aubrey previously just said to her. Of course she thought Beca was beautiful and that observation was mutual but love? It was scary and unknown to Chloe that even just thinking about it frightened her to the bones.

But when she turned her head to watch Aubrey glide her way over to Stacie and attack her with peppered kisses, catching Beca's eyes while she climbed on top of Jesse's back, dunking him underneath the water, that terrifying feeling made its way back into the pit of Chloe's gut. This time though, when Beca beamed a smirk towards her direction, sending an army of butterflies with it, that once terrifying feeling in her gut was replaced with an upbeat, pleasant aroma mixed with the flaps of wings from the butterflies.

Maybe after all these years, she was now experiencing love and there was no one to blame other than that tiny brunette who calls herself Beca.

* * *

The sunrise rose a lot quicker than what it actually seemed like. The time it took felt like seconds ago they were just messing around in the ocean and now Chloe, Stacie and Aubrey were eagerly awaiting their journey to look for the sea witch in hope of destroying this curse.

"Beca," Chloe called out gently, hoping the brunette would wake up from her peaceful slumber. Being exhausted from a Hell of a day, obviously, Beca, Jesse and Luke all fell asleep on the beach after their war in the water.

Beca was resting her head on Luke's stomach with her mouth wide opened while he laid flat on his back with one of his arms placed behind his head. She had her legs draped parallel over Jesse's back who was stomach first on the sand with his arms crossed under his cheek bone.

Chloe smiled to herself at how adorable the brunette was as she lays across her friends like a toddler sleeping with their parents.

"Beca," Chloe tried to whisper again.

This time Beca's eyes slowly blinked open, exposing those cloudy blues to the mermaid for the first time. Chloe was a little taken back at how beautiful her eyes were in the sun light. The sunset not only reflected a brighter color to the blue but it also allowed them to pop differently than what she saw during night.

"Hey," Beca croaked out in a sleepy voice that sent Chloe's heart to explode out of her chest. The tiny brunette sat up quietly from Luke and Jesse, hoping to not wake them in the process and walked her way over to the shore where Chloe and her tail were exposed. "Wow," Beca said, marveling at the sight in front of her. The sunset was giving Chloe's skin a golden color and even a faint sparkle on her misted skin from the water. Chloe was leaning on her hands, arms stretched straight out and was arching her back, allowing her tail to flop into the waves that crashed into shore. "You're beautiful."

Chloe blushed at the compliment, thrashing her tail in an overload of emotions. "As are you. With it being dark all last night when we talked, I never noticed that your eyes were so blue." She took in another look at the brunette's eyes since she was now closer.

"Yeah they are." Beca laughed, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her cheek on top. "Not as blue as your's though and definitely not as beautiful." Again, Chloe felt her cheeks getting warmer so she tilted her head down at the muddy sand to avoid Beca catching this."Are you guys leaving?"

"Yeah we are about to." Chloe lifted her head back up at Beca. "Aubrey says it won't take long so we should be back soon."

"You know when you're human, we are going to need to find three spare outfits you guys can wear unless what you're about to say next is telling me you want to become a nudist." Beca smirked and sent Chloe into a fit of giggles. Knowing that by the end of today she could either be a human, one that she always dreamed of being or two, dead and lifeless at the bottom of the sea. And even though the potion might not work and being human wasn't a hundred percent certain, it was a mix feeling between scared and excited.

"I am pretty confident about-" Chloe gestured her hands over her body, "-all of this," she joked and caught Beca's sneaky eyes looking at her nude chest that was covered by her hair.

Clearing her throat, "you should be," Beca managed to spit out, smirking as she returned her focus back north.

"Well as you should know, we collected items over the years that travelers left behind and I'm pretty sure we could find something. Speaking of items, there are tons of waters that are stacked up for you guys. Aubrey is collecting a few things for you guys to bring up but sadly, the food we collected had an expiration date." Chloe frowned. "Who knew food could go bad?"

"Oh awesome!" Beca said excitedly at the news. "Not going to lie I was getting pretty thirsty from being in that cave so long. As far as food, Luke and Jesse have been dying to try out their spears they made last night and go fishing." Chloe flicked her eyes back at the two boys who were still knocked out on the sand.

"Do you think you could do something?" Beca asked, standing before Chloe could answer. She made her way back to where she was sleeping and picked up multiple pieces of tree bark she found along the island.

Setting them back down on the sand in front of Chloe, "Can you make a fire out of these guys?"

"Does it look like I'm some sort of fire bender?" Chloe joked sarcastically, smiling at the brunette in front of her.

"Okay first of all, sarcasm on you is so sexy." Beca rolled her eyes in pleasure. "Second of all, I was saying that you could maybe heat the wood and I could spark them."

The mermaid pondered this this thought for a while. "Let me try."

Beca went to pick up two pieces and violently rubbed them together until she saw a spark. Once a spark hit the wood, she quickly dropped the pieces on top of the others while Chloe raised her hand to point at the pile.

It took longer than expected and at one point Chloe thought it was going to work. That was until a little flame caught the corner of the stick and spread into a large flame over the others.

"Sick!" Beca yelled, watching the flame expand in size. "Thanks Chlo. Now I don't have to eat raw fish."

Chloe smiled proudly at her work, not really knowing that she was capable of doing that.

She is learning an awful lot with Beca by her side.

"Hey I forgot to mention this last night but l saw you staring at me quite a bit."

"What-no!" Quickly, Chloe tried to cover up her 'I've just been caught' face'.

"Don't even try to lie!" Once again, Beca was once again pointing that deadly smirk at the redhead. "You and Aubrey's eyes basically looked like a cat's at nighttime. I could _soooo_ see those glowing blue and greens even from the distance."

"Fine." Not really having anything to counter or defend herself with, she admitted out slowly.

"What were you guys talking about?"

 _Oh you know, how I think I'm in love with you but I don't know for sure._ "Oh the usual girl talk. Mermaid talk actually," Chloe lied, trying to keep her nervousness to a minimum.

Before Beca could respond, Aubrey and Stacie emerged from underneath the water carrying a bag full of what it looks like, water bottles. Chloe screamed a mental thank you to herself at the unplanned interruption before swimming out towards the water and taking the bag out of Aubrey's hands. Aubrey handed the supplies over to Chloe and she swam back over to Beca to give her the bag.

"Here's enough water for the three of you. I hope it's cold enough. We kept it under water with us hoping it would stay cool."

Beca smiled gratefully at the objects. "Thank you Chloe...And thanks Aubrey and Stacie!" she yelled at the couple in the ocean with only their heads sticking out from the water. Aubrey flashed her a quick wave and Stacie blew the tiny brunette a kiss.

Placing the objects gently next to her, she noticed in the bag was a piece of jewelry. "What is this?" Beca asked, pulling out a white, medium size ankle bracelet.

"When you're a mermaid and you have nothing to do besides kill people and swim around, you get a little bored. Having enough of that boredom, I started collecting shells, and pearls, or whatever cool things I can find along shore and carve them into jewelry." Chloe explained with a beaming smile on her face as she watched Beca examine the bracelet. "That one is made out of my favorite shell I found back in Italy. There are crystals from the cave here that you saw and pearls I stole from some clams. Don't tell them though. If you do, I'll deny." Beca barked out a laugh and connected the piece of jewelry around her ankle. She didn't even know clams could talk-though she didn't know mermaids existed but turns out, there's three of them, possibly even more.

It was beautiful. The way the pearls and crystals shined in the light and how incredibly white the shells were that aligned the crystals and beads. Even the edges weren't sharp and Beca didn't have a problem with the jewelry stabbing her every time she walked.

"Thank you Chloe," Beca said honestly, still admiring the new addition. "Seriously, it's beautiful."

The redhead smiled proudly and all of a sudden, she felt nervous and uneasy again. Chloe and her sisters were about to leave and all Beca wanted them to do was stay. Stay with her on the island where she knows is a safe place. The ocean is filled with all sorts of dangerous things and even though these mermaids are probably the most dangerous predators roaming it, Beca still felt worried that something bad was going to happen.

The mermaid seemed to catch Beca's change in emotions because almost instantly, she intertwined their fingers and held them close to her chest where her heartbeat was.

Feeling the steady beat below the mermaid's warm skin calmed Beca down in a surprisingly fast amount of time.

"It's okay Beca," Chloe quietly whispered, not tearing her glowing blue eyes off of Beca's.

The brunette didn't know why but Chloe saying those words filled her eyes up with tears. Her vision became fuzzy and she had that tickle in her nose that was a warning that she was about to cry.

"Chloe, we better go!" Beca heard Aubrey call out impatiently in the ocean.

Squeezing her eyes together at the realization that Chloe was about to leave sent a single tear out of her left eye to roll down her cheek. Quickly, Chloe reached her thumb up to wipe the tear before it could fall into the sand.

Chloe lifted Beca's chin and beamed her a smile. "I figured something out."

Beca scrunched her face at the change of topic, not really understanding the redhead. "What?"

"I figured out something," she repeated, this time more confident. "And that something is I have come to conclusion that I, Chloe Beale, have feelings for you, Beca." Beca's eyes stretched wide and her mouth slightly dropped open. "I know. It surprised me too but lately, I've been thinking. I always wondered what it would be like to fall in love and experience the emotions love brings with it. Ever since I've seen you, these unknown feelings would appear throughout my body and it would scare me. I don't want to fall in love and find out after it wasn't real. I'm deathly terrified of the truth but with you, everything seems real. I'm not saying that I'm in love with you now because first, we just met. Don't want to scare you away." Chloe winked at Beca's previous words being thrown into the conversation. The brunette croaked up a laugh and the squinting of her eyes sent more tears to fall out. Again, Chloe quickly caught every single tear before they touched the ground.

"All I'm saying is I _could_ and probably _will_ end up loving you someday and I'm going to make damn sure my sisters and I make it back to you just so I can experience my very first love." Smiling, Chloe moved their still conjoined hands up to her lips and brushed a gentle kiss on Beca's top knuckles. "There's no one I'd rather be in love with besides you Beca."

The brunette watched the mermaid place a kiss on her hand and sent her body with a huge wave electric shivers. "The feelings are mutual," Beca admitted, mirroring Chloe's smile when she lifted her head from the brunette's hand. Deciding it was now or never, Beca leaned her head in close to Chloe's until their lips were centimeters apart. The hot breath from Chloe's lips spread across Beca's and she could see every hint of blue that glowed in the mermaid's orbits. Closing her eyes and moving in to close the distance, Chloe quickly countered her movement and place a soft, gentle kiss on the brunette's cheek.

Mentally slapping herself, Beca snapped her eyes open and pulled away from the redhead. "I'm so sorry!" Beca rushed to apologize, totally embarrassed at her self control. "I didn't know what I was thinking and you just said you weren't in love with me and I pull that crap! Please don't hate me I'm sorry!

"I definitely don't hate you, Beca." Chloe giggled while Beca stared at her confused yet still burning with embarrassment. "I just want it to be special for our first time- _my_ first time. And nothing is special about having my first kiss when you're crying and I'm being rushed by my annoying sisters. That was literally the hardest thing I had to do and I've killed people Beca." The brunette nodded her head in understanding.

Aubrey called out for Chloe again and with that, Chloe retracted her hands from Beca and started making her way back into the water. The lost of contact instantly hit Beca like a freight train and watching Chloe swim her way out to her sisters, made all of her worried emotions flood throughout her tiny body.

"Remember Becs," Chloe yelled over her shoulder in a volume loud enough for Beca to hear but not loud enough to wake the sleeping boys. "I'm going to come back and when I do, we are going to explore these feelings we have together because you might be the person I'll love forever."

Beca could see the gleaming smile radiating off the waves before the three mermaids submerged back underneath the ocean.

And just like that, they were gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to take a turn with this chapter and add some fluff before going into the more the serious chapters.  
> Next one will now take place through the mermaids view as they venture through the ocean and there will also be a little more fluff.  
> But I warn you...things are going to get real serious...real fast. BRACE YOURSELVES!  
> Reviews and feedback are awesome and warms my heart


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I'm going to apologize for taking so long to update this story.  
> I honestly forgot how much fun it is to write a fiction story and hopefully I can get back on track with updating it more frequently.  
> Also, I hope you followers out there are still interested in this story!  
> Honestly those of you who were waiting, I truly am sorry and you guys are amazing for sticking through.  
> Anyways, a little longer of a chapter this one is and also, updated and edited past chapters from this story as well if you need to re-read or anything because I sure did :(  
> Enjoy this chapter guys!

Leaving Beca was by far the hardest thing Chloe has had to do-and that's even before the millions of innocent people's lives she took before hand. What made leaving Beca so hard was watching her once bright, peaceful features over her face quickly morph into a frown and seeing the buckets of tears she was holding in the pools of her eyes on the brink of falling any second.

The only enjoyment Chloe got out of leaving was seeing Beca care so much about her safety. But other than that, Chloe did not like it. Not one bit.

It crushed Chloe seeing Beca so upset, but she had to do this.

For her sisters.

Chloe would be lying if she wasn't a little nervous about this whole potion concoction Cynthia would be able to make for them but really, she had no other choice but to have some faith that it's powers could stop the curse.

She had to believe in it for herself, so she could swim back to Beca, just like she said she was going to, take the potion that Cynthia claimed to cure them and live a happy, normal life with Beca with nothing else to worry about. Tail free, the curse broken, just her and Beca, living happily ever after in the human world.

Just the two of them, possibly in love.

But then the thought of it not working flooded her mind, the potion somehow unable to cure her and her sister and she then she remembered Beca. Never has she felt this sort of strong connection she had with Beca towards anyone else and she didn't want to waste that because of some stupid curse. No. She couldn't let that happen. Her and Beca had so much to experience together such as Chloe's first time walking with human legs or her first time trying human food-like peanut butter or something since that seems to be very popular with the mortals she's encountered.

Beca had the whole human world to show Chloe, something she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl and nothing is going to get in the way of that.

She'll make it back to Beca if it's the last thing she does.

The ocean was darker this morning the longer the mermaids were out swimming through it. Colder even. There wasn't that usual glint of crystal blue that sparkled the ocean under the sun's beaming rays due to the sun not even being present above. Instead, the sky was this ugly gray color and there was a gloomy, dark fog radiating off the waves which were calmer than they usually were.

Animals under the sea were even acting strange Chloe noted. Fish who were usually the friendliest besides starfish who are the happiest living creatures in the sea and the occasionally jelly were acting as if Chloe and her sisters were the plague. Backing away from them every time they got close, swimming in the opposite direction like they were three great white sharks on the hunt for bait.

This was abnormal what was going on in the ocean-around their home. She didn't understand why until she realized her father was probably the one behind all of it. Behind the curse.

Chloe and her sisters did have orders to uphold when leaving her father's kingdom and they failed to obey them- which comes a consequence. She guesses that this is just the start of the curse but knows she and her sisters don't have much more time knowing the power behind the man who created it.

They really need to find this potion before they're too late.

* * *

Beca hasn't moved since Chloe and her sisters left. She sat on the sand, staring up into the sky numb and without a blink. The beautiful glow of orange and red from the sunset disappeared, transforming quickly into darker, scary storm clouds right when the mermaids set sail and Beca couldn't help but think that alone was a bad sign for the three of them.

"They're going to be fine Becs," Jesse said reassuringly, joining Beca where the waves were shallow onshore and she was just staring out into the ocean where the three mermaids disappeared beneath the water. " _Chloe_ is going to be fine."

Beca wasn't really listening if she was being honest. All she could focus on were the sounds of the waves and feel her heartbeat pump against her chest as her nerves starting kicking up the longer the mermaids were gone. It hasn't been long, maybe close to an hour, but still. She was worried.

There's a chance of the potion not working or the chance of them not even making it long enough to get the damn thing.

"I don't want something bad to happen to them." Beca finally spoke up, her gaze still glued to the ocean and her hands were gripping tightly over the corals Chloe made for her. "What if their dad comes, or this sea witch was wrong about the amount of time they actually had left to survive the curse." The possibilities her mind was making up made Beca's eyes start to become misty. "I can't," she started, getting choked up on her words a bit. Looking down into her hands, she sighed. "I can't lose her, Jes," she whispered just faintly, her voice breaking.

"You're not going to lose her, Becs. She's strong…. for God's sakes she's a mermaid!" Jesse nudged his shoulder into Beca's playfully, hoping to ease the tension a little but no matter how hard she tried to think of something else, she couldn't.

Jesse frowned when he saw the sadness tinted around Beca's eyes when she wasn't making an effort to even say something sarcastic and threw his arm around his sister to bring her into his body, knowing how upset she really was. Jesse's body heat felt nice since there was a breeze and the sun was absent under all the clouds but hugging him just reminded Beca of Chloe and how whenever she touched her skin, it felt like she was touching a big ball of fire with the heat Chloe's body was able to produce compared to her tail which was scaly and icy cold.

"They're going to make it back, Becs." Jesse rested the side of his face on Beca's head where she laid on his chest. His words were soothing and Beca could tell he was trying his hardest to keep a positive attitude for the sake of Beca.

She just hoped that he was right.

* * *

The seafloor of the ocean was now gone as Aubrey lead her sisters in and out of the underwater cave, dodging the newly placed spears and avoiding their sharpness. The little light they did have from over waters was now gone once they were surrounded by the cave's rocks. The mermaids of course had the ability to see underwater but even with that, the cave was extremely dark and there was a terrifying aroma the made Chloe's skin crawl. This was the farthest and deepest Chloe has ever been in the ocean.

And she didn't like it.

Not one bit.

Seeming to be able to feel Chloe's uneasiness, "we are almost there," Aubrey announced as she lead them deeper and deeper into the rocks. Her green eyes were glowing bright through the darkness as well as Stacie's, and Chloe saw that their eyes was literally the only light present in this cave now.

Things were getting sketchy and they were getting scary fast.

"Whoa." Stacie halted her swimming suddenly and caused the other two mermaids to do the same when she stopped following. Chloe saw her looking at something in the distance that looked like a tiny ball of light or lint.

Stacie's tail started gravitating her closer to the I know glare. "What's that?" Before she could swim any closer to the light, Aubrey hastily reached out to grab her arm, yanking her back in place and kept her from going any closer.

Stacie was startled by how quick Aubrey made it to her from where she was at in the cave and also was surprised at how tight she was gripping her arm.

"Don't go near those," Aubrey demanded sternly, her eyes near melting into Stacie's with her strictness and it made Chloe wonder what her sister was so worried about when the object only looked like a light bulb or something just as bright. "Angerlfish," she clarified in a calmer tone, releasing her grasp on Stacie's arm.

Chloe has heard about these fish before with stories her dad would tell during school. She remembers him saying you'd only encounter them if you plan on going as deep as 16,000 feet into the ocean and there's no doubt Chloe and her sisters weren't already at that depth, possibly even deeper than that. But since Chloe has never traveled this far down, she had no idea who or what they were.

"They're cranky little bastards." Aubrey snickered under her breath, looking into the direction where the tiny light was still present. If Chloe squinted her eyes small enough, she could she the ball moving back and forth. "Though our species runs majority of ocean, creatures can still be predatorial when it comes to their home. For these guys, we are deep in their home and they won't for a second hesitate to remind us where we are."

"They don't look that big though," Stacie mentioned when she could make out a frame of the body which held the light that hung above their head. It had to be no larger than a teacup, at least this one wasn't. The mouth on the fish and set of pretty nifty fangs it has was the only thing concerning

"That one probably is a male since females tend run bigger than them. They can actually can grow pretty hefty in size but not only that. More than likely there's more than one of them here right now."

Just as Aubrey mentioned this, more and more lights similar to the first began to pop up all around them in the cave, surrounding them wherever they looked.

At least now with the extra lights, the cave appeared brighter and Chloe could actually see around the place to make out certain features of the cave.

"We should go." Chloe was thrown out of her stare at the army of fishes now surrounding them when Aubrey began swimming again through the cave-this time though, slower than before. "They won't touch you unless you give them a reason to and I suggest, not doing that." Chloe guesses that this is something not to mess with since she doesn't know what these things are capable of doing.

That was hard to believe the longer Chloe was able to make out the features of the fish. They were quite terrifying she's going to be honest and God, they sure were ugly fish with their bulging eyes and giant set of teeth. Definitely not the cuteness things you'd say when coming upon one of these guys.

She decided that staring at them any longer wouldn't be beneficial since that count down to their death was slowly just ticking away the longer she stared.

So, after getting a few better looks of these things, Chloe followed her sisters deeper into the cave, ignoring the fact that these fish could pounce at any given moment.

They had to be close to the sea witch.

Right?

* * *

Beca was tossing rocks into the water as she watched them skip delicately across the calmer waves, figuring that she needed to do something to get her mind off of Chloe before she goes insane with over thinking the horrible possibilities that could happen to the mermaids.

Jesse and Luke were out in the waters, testing out their spears they made last night in hope for catching some fish. They've been at it for what felt like hours now and still, they've caught nothing.

Beca couldn't lie and say it wasn't humorous watching the two boys squirm around the ocean like chickens with their heads cut off, grunting in frustration every time a fish would get away from them. They even made bandanas out of the seaweed they found under the water and wrapped the pieces around their heads ready to hunt like men.

They're dorks that's forsure.

Beca's hoping that they do end up catching at least something soon because her stomach was beginning to growl after not eating for a full day and needed some protein fast before her body became even weaker than it was already becoming.

If anything, she might have to go Bear Grylls and show these pathetic boys how catching a fish is done when her patience timer finally goes off.

Beca moved out and away from the water once it got a bit colder her she felt her body start to shake when the wind hit the wetness on her torso. The sky was still that ugly dark color and the temperature dropped tremendously from how it was before.

She walked over to the fire that was placed off shore and sat down, taking in the immediate heat that spread across her chilled muscles. Raising her hands up to the flame to warm her hands, she heard Luke and Jesse screaming absolute nonsense from the ocean that was quite a distance away from Beca and saw something flapping around at the point of Luke's spear.

"Becky! Becky!" Luke was cheering loudly from where his was and Beca could see Jesse bouncing up and down like a toddler on Christmas as he pointed towards the end of Luke's spear. Again, they were pretty far away from where the fire sat on the beach but from what Beca could tell was on Luke's spear was a fish.

Boy, did she hope Luke finally caught something.

Beca watched the two boys jog over to where Beca was sitting and being right, Luke had a now lifeless fish on the end of his rodd-which was actually a pretty decent size fish for all three of them.

"We caught one!" Jesse said proudly with his signature face splitting grin.

"Correction," Luke intervened with heightened eyebrows. " _I_ caught one," he corrected and Beca noticed he was breathing pretty heavy and his words came out in pants.

"I see it took a lot out of you buddy," Beca joked with a wink. Whether he was winded, out of shape or whatever, she was pretty excited to finally be able to get to grubbin'.

And usually, she never really even enjoyed fish, barely ever ate it as a choice when they were back at home. Something about the texture and smell grossed her out like no other-even though the taste of the fish when it was cooked wasn't so bad.

But now, she could eat it raw and scarf it down like her life depended on it with how hungry she was.

"Let's fry it up then!" Beca clapped with a smile, proud that Luke was finally able to catch something after spending the whole morning it seemed like trying. Maybe next time Jesse will catch the next fish since she doesn't really know how long they're going to end up living out here.

Pulling out pocket knife that magically just appeared when Luke reached into his swim trunks, he began scaling the fish on both sides until it was ready to be cooked. He lifted up his rod when putting the fish back on until the end of his spear where the fish was located was directly into the fire and rotated the stick around to make sure every side was getting cooked. Beca's mouth was already watering before Luke started cooking the fish but now, she was basically salivating into the sand as the burning smell slowly made it into her senses when the smoke caught the breeze.

Once the fish looked good enough to eat, with the same knife, Luke began cutting the fish into three different sections for Jesse and Beca.

"And where did you get that?" Luke switched his focus off the fish when Beca pointed down towards the knife placed in his hands.

"Aubrey left it behind just in case I guess." He shrugged nonchalantly before resuming his cuts horizontally on the fish's stomach. Beca could only smile at the gesture from the blonde mermaid, knowing that her and her friends weren't at the top of her list of people she enjoyed. Maybe they weren't even on the list but with her leaving items that would become handy for Beca and her friends, it showed that Aubrey at least cared a little bit for their well being.

Especially since before all this happened, Luke was lined up to be her main dish as she took a pretty decent size chunk out of his leg when she went all psycho mermaid on him.

It showed the mermaid had a soft side for them and it made Beca's heart warm knowing that.

She got her portion of the fish and wasted no time before digging straight in. She never realized how hungry she was and how delicious this fish was tasting until her teeth ripped the meat apart and swallowed it whole. With the pace she was going at, she might end up choking if she doesn't slow down-also maybe saving some for later since who knows when the next time Jesse and Luke will catch another fish- but she couldn't find it in her to stop.

Interrupting the sounds of both Jesse and Beca's eating, "how long do you think they've been gone?" Luke asked curiously, picking out the bones from a bite he took out of the fish.

"Seem's like they left a couple hours ago," Jesse answered him since Beca wasn't planning on doing so.

Beca honestly didn't really want to talk about the mermaids and where their whereabouts were at right this second because it would just make her freak out about that fact they still haven't made it back. And it wasn't like Beca could call or text Chloe asking where they were, how they were doing or when they made it to wherever they needed to go.

It didn't matter how much she worried about Chloe and her sisters. She'd never be able to answer any of Luke's, Jesse's-or even her own questions to where the girls whereabouts are until they made it back.

After a few moments of silence, Luke spoke up again. "They're hot aren't they?" Luke snickered which caught Beca's attention. "You know...for having a tail and all." He finished the last bite of his fish before setting the knife down next to him on the sand.

"Hot doesn't even come close to them," Jesse causally added and when turned to face Beca, he gave her a teasing wink. "Dontcha think, Becs?"

Before Beca could even muster up anything sarcastic to say, she saw something moving around in the water but wasn't close enough to see what it was. The darkness from the sky wasn't helping sort out the image either as Beca could only see the dark blue glow from the sea.

Luke and Jesse also caught this and were staring out into the ocean where Beca was but didn't understand what had Beca such in a trance.

All hope in her body lit up when she thought of the possibility of it being Chloe and next thing was, she was up from the sand where she was sitting on the beach and sprinting over to the water where she saw the moving image, leaving Jess and Luke behind to share puzzled glances.

Water splashed up from where Beca ran, hitting her warm skin with the coldness of the ocean. Her feet froze instantly once she got in a far enough distance so they were covered but she didn't care much about the temp as she was eagerly looking out into the waters in search for the red head underneath.

Beca squinted her eyes next to whatever was moving next to the three rocks in the middle of the island but soon noticed it wasn't big enough to be Chloe, let alone be human. It had to be a fish or something and all that hope Beca once had quickly washed away when she concluded that it wasn't Chloe out there.

"What are you doing Becky?" Luke called out, questioning her sudden spaz moment which lead her to the middle of the sea.

Lowering her eyes, her body all of a sudden deflated with false hope, she made her way back towards the fire on the beach so she could wait for the mermaids there. As she was turning back though, a severe, shooting pain spread up from her ankle, all the way up to her knee and stopped her completely from walking any farther.

Her leg was on fire as it throbbed in pain and when Beca was able to look past whatever was burning her skin, she glanced down into the water a saw multiple jellyfish floating around above the sand.

" _Fuck_.." she grumbled out as she clenched her teeth tightly while the pain of dripping acid was getting worse it seemed like.

When she looked back down at her leg, just above the coral anklet Chloe made, her leg was a rutilant red and was already beginning to blister over the forming welts.

Never being stung by a jellyfish before and only seeing these things on television, the pain was bearable after experiencing some of the other stuff that was pretty excruciating but Jesus, did it fucking sting like a bitch.

What were jellyfish even doing so close to shore anyways? Didn't they only do that when a storm was present or a strong tide was pulling them in?

Oh well, didn't matter.

She need help ASAP.

"Jesse! Luke!" Beca yelled for her friends and started limping out of the water so she could do something about this stinging. Hopefully one of them knew what to do because Beca had no idea and needed to get the pain under control.

Immediately, Jesse and Luke ran out to meet Beca halfway, worried that something bad happened to her when they saw Beca limping.

"What happened!?" Luke asked when he saw Beca hobbling out of the water and fall straight into the sand, clutching the top of her knee. "Did you do something to your ankle?"

"No!" Beca yelled back harshly, unintentionally, of course, since the pain seemed to almost double once the wind hit the burns on her leg. She pointed down at the side of her calf where the jellyfish stung her and showed Luke and Jesse.

In unison, their eyebrows raised so high it passed their hairlines.

"That's a jellyfish sting!" Jesse announced with his mouth gaped like he just discovered the da vinci code or something just as impressive.

Beca grunted something animalistic through clenched teeth at Jesse’s obvious examination. "No shit, Sherlock!" Beca bit back the urge to slap her brother because now was not the right time to hurt the kid. She needed to do something about her leg before it gets worse. "What do I do!?"

Luke glanced over to Jesse panicked, which only caused Beca's current freak out to rise even more. "Me or you mate?" he asked Jesse with a shrug in a serious tone, leaving Beca to wonder what the fuck they were talking about.

And why the Hell aren't they helping her current problem pulsing through her leg?!

"I'll go," Jesse answered Luke's question. "I've kinda had to since this morning."

Why weren't her questions being answered?! "What the fuck are you guys talking about?!" Beca nearly sobbed at the burning in her leg. She could see the stingers from the jellyfish's tentacles around the rash and her leg only seemed to be getting more swollen and red the longer it was exposed to the air.

Then, instead of replying she Beca's questions, Jesse untangled the knot on the brim of his teal swim trunks and started pulling them down.

Beca's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when she caught the slightest glimpse of Jesse's v line on his stomach and the tippity top of his pubic hair. "What the fuck are you doing Jesse?!" She screamed, appalled, that if Jesse wouldn't have stopped his movements from descending any lower, she would’ve ended up seeing his full package.

And that was something she did NOT want to see.

"Becky, urine stops the stinging." Luke was trying to explain this calmly, acting like he wasn't just asking Beca to be okay with the fact her brother needs to pee on her- which she's not. "Then we have to remove the stingers and rinse the burn with clean, cool water before it gets any worse than it already is."

"That sounds like a real fucking awful idea Luke!" Beca spat angrily. She could feel the veins her skull started to rise and felt like they were going to burst any second with the amount of yelling. "That's a fiction myth to do and will probably end up infecting this or something else just as bad!"

"We have no other choice Becky! As you can tell, we are on the middle of some deserted island without the proper care for a jellyfish sting!" This time Luke yelled just as loud, making sure to get his point across. "And also, the mermaids who are able to cure injuries with their weird bodily liquids are MIA so sorry mate, we are all out of options!"

Beca can't believe this was happening to her right now. Someone, please just anyone kill her, put her out of her misery so she doesn't have to get pissed on by her brother.

Maybe even a great white shark will be drawn towards the shower and take her away with a single bite.

"You want the stinging to go away and with Luke scraping out the stingers won't help with that. So before, we need to take that away," Jesse explained in more more gentle manner, as if Beca was listening because right now, she was seconds away from ripping off Jesse's head.

With a short glance over to Luke and him giving Jesse the "okay" to continue, Jesse pulled down the rest of his swim trunks so his junk was out in the open for all to see. Watching Jesse aim his disgusting manhood over the area where Beca got stung-something that will end up scaring her for the rest of her life- she flinched farther away from Jesse until Luke had to pin her down to the ground.

" **GET YOUR FUCKING DICK AWAY FROM ME JESSE**!"

* * *

It seemed like this cave they were in was one giant maze filled with creepy fish and complete darkness that followed them wherever they went. Chloe was starting to think that Aubrey was lost down here but her sister kept reassuring her that she knew exactly where she was going.

It took some time, more time than Chloe was comfortable with but they finally made it to their destination. Of course it was still a cave within a cave that was so incredibly deep in the ocean they might as well be at the core of the Earth. But besides that, the aroma was better. Safer even.

Chloe was ecstatic and sort of relieved that there was some light above the surface when they emerged from under the waters. There was balls of lights that looked identical to the angler fish's Chloe and sisters saw before and they were hung and placed all around the cave.

Similar to their's, there was crystals covering the tops of the cave but instead of a shimmering, ocean blue, these ones were a dark, violet color. And also a little bit bigger.

"This place is awesome!" Stacie gushed, picking up a fallen crystal from the ground as she swam up to the edge.

Chloe had to agree with Stacie but being cheesy like always, no cave even came close to how wonderful her and her sister's is.

"Babe, don't touch anything." Aubrey smacked Stacie's hand lightly and she instantly released the crystal from her grip. "I swear, you're like a child when it comes to discovering new things." Aubrey kissed Stacie's cheek as her girlfriend smirked devilishly before swimming around the cave's pond.

"You guys made it." A voice from behind the mermaids interrupted the silence, startling them from their observations.

As the three of them turned around at the newly added presence in the cave, there floating behind them was a darker skinned girl with a single, fluorescent pink stripe in her black hair, floating above the waters with a friendly smile on her face.

As Chloe glanced below the waters, she saw at least six, deathly black tentacles squirming around and was also connect to this woman's torso where she wore a similar colored bandeau to match.

Chloe guesses that this has to be the sea witch Aubrey was talking about.

"Cynthia hey." Aubrey copied the smile. "These are my sisters I was telling you about, Stacie and Chloe." They both waved at Cynthia timidly and got a genuine nod in response. "Look, my vision...hunch thing was right. Humans washed up on our shore and one of them was able to survive our song. We know we don't have much time but please, can you help us?" Aubrey pleaded with hopefully eyes. Chloe as well helped with the begging because they come from a strong family who don't beg because it's a weak thing to do but now, was an appropriate and much need time to do so.

Cynthia let out a gentle chuckle. "I figured that something like this was going to happen after seeing how badly this vision affected you so, I had to search for a lot of stuff, get out of venom from certain creatures who names I will not repeat nor even remember experiencing." Chuckling amused, she handed the three mermaids individual clams that held a solid black ball the size of a dime sitting in the middle.

Assuming that they didn't know what to do with these, Cynthia continued. "Before you leave here, I'll need a drop of Aubrey's blood to be placed on each pearl to finish my potion. All you need to do is let the blood absorb into the pearls since part of it is actually from a maldives berry sponge. Allow the venom as well to mix in with Aubrey's blood for at least twenty four hours. After the time is up, swallow them whole and effects can come immediate, or they can come a little later."

"But didn't you say we didn't have much time to start? What if the potion takes longer than expected? Won't it be too late?" Aubrey was trying to hide the fear in her tone, but Chloe caught this.

She herself was thrilled that in her hand was a small chance that she'd be able to live and break the curse but also, she couldn't help but be worried that it wouldn't cure them in time.

"You see, if you guys were mermaids, your lives, first of all, wouldn't even be in danger but since you three are sirens, I'm surprised the three of you even made it down here alive, honestly. I had to know for sure though, so I traveled back to your home kingdom. So far, your father, other mermaids, sirens, mermans, whoever that lives down there doesn't know about what you've guys done. Demeter especially doesn't know." Cynthia explained and Chloe breathed a heavy sigh. That was at least a good sign her father didn't know yet.

"I know you don't have a lot of time but the curse date, after learning more about it, doesn't have an exact countdown. And since you guys are younger, healthier and feed more than the average siren, your time could have possibly doubled."

"So basically we are flipping a coin right now with our fates?" Stacie chipped in, grabbing Aubrey's hand under water that wasn't holding the clam.

"You sure are," Cynthia informed with a frown and Chloe could see the look of pure fear wash over both Aubrey and Stacie's faces. "But that's all you can do at this point. Have you guys felt weaker, more fatigued lately?" Chloe and her sisters shook their heads. For the most part, they kept up all their strength and didn't seem all that affected. "Then that's a good sign. Once you start to experience those symptoms and feel your skin start to incinerate away, then you'll have something to worry about. Okay?"

In unison, the mermaids nodded their heads.

As Aubrey was asking a few more questions about the potion Cynthia created, Chloe was taking in the cave once again until she caught onto something that look strangely familiar. "Is that a Pacific Murex Ramosus shell?" Chloe pointed over to the large selection of these guys spread across the cave. It had to be, knowing she had an exact one back at home. And by the size of it, the shell didn't look like the common one you'd find along most shores.

Cynthia turned around and focused over to where Chloe was pointing towards and nodded her head. "Yeah it is. I have many of them. Why?"

Chloe's eyes beamed when Cynthia confirmed this, smiling wide at the sea witch.

"Can I use it?"

* * *

Beca was sitting once again alone at the edge of the shore, a leaf from a nearby tree wrapped around the burn on her leg and an ego that was humiliated by the thought that she just had her brother urinate on her leg.

It was an awful experience; she nearly killed Luke because he was keeping her down with his strong restraints for arms and almost killed Jesse right after that when he started peeing on her leg like a dog would on a fire hydrant.

And also hello, had his junk in plain sight and all up in her face which was not okay in her book.

The image was permanent in her mind and she didn't know how long it planned on staying in there. Probably forever.

So after that, she needed to be alone, get a grip on herself before Chloe and her sisters come back.

Beca does start to laugh as she could picture Chloe's reaction when she tells her. Even Aubrey's face was something she couldn't miss.

What a story that will be.

"How's the leg?" Jesse snuck up on Beca from behind, joining her on the sand, similar to how they were earlier this morning.

Beca was still pretty ticked off at her brother even though-and she fucking hates to admit it-the urine helped take the edge off the stinging before Luke went all surgeon and took out every stinger with the non sharp part of his pocket knife.

But still, he peed on her, she was pissed, maybe more so embarrassed than anything, and just wanted some alone time by herself.

Plus, the mermaids still haven't returned and it was starting to make Beca worry more than she already was.

When Beca didn't respond to Jesse, barely even taking in his presence, he nudged her shoulder with his and tried again. "Beca come on." Still Beca have her brother no attention as she kept her focus on the waves. "You can't tell me it wasn't a little bit funny." Beca could feel his dorky smile without even looking at the boy.

" _Not_ funny," Beca hissed under her breath, still not giving into Jesse's stare on her.

"Eh, a little funny." He squinted his eyes at his fingers that pinched the air.

Taking the chance and looking over at her brother, Beca couldn't help but roll her eyes at Jesse's contagious grin and mirror the action herself.

"Fuck off." Despite her laughing, she reached out and pushed her brother over. "I can't believe you did that."

Sitting up from where he was pushed, he returned back into a comfortable position. "You can't tell me it didn't help."

Beca thought she was being secretive with her emotions but she should've known better that Jesse being her rock all these years would be able to read her like a book. Weakly, she shrugged her shoulders, unable to muster up the right words to say to him and without feeling that knot in the back of her throat whenever she would talk about Chloe.

She knew she had intensely strong feelings for the redhead, but love? Now that was something way out of the ballpark.

"You know, why don't you go grab a shell or something and see if you can hear Chloe. I saw pretty neat ones over by those strangely placed rocks when Luke and I were hunting," he suggested and Beca turned her face so fast she swore she pulled a neck muscle.

"Why the Hell would I grab a shell Jesse? Are you joking right now?" By the deadpan look of pure seriousness on his face, Beca knew her brother was everything but messing around.

"I'm serious Bec. You know how grams and gramps would always say to us when we visited their house in the summer and hung out on the beach all day long, collecting shells and weird rocks in the sea that we could sometimes listen to the ocean when we found the right one?"

"Yeah, so?" Beca had no idea where he was going with this and why it had to do with Chloe.

"Maybe if you find the right shell, you could hear the mermaids, taking that they _are_ the ocean."

Beca wanted to slap right upside the head for this stupid idea. What was he? Five years old?

_Look out everybody, mermaids have the new and hip cell phones, or should she say, "shell" phones._

Beca snickered at her inner pun and got up anyway to walk over to the water surrounding the three rocks. Maybe over here, she'd be able to get some alone time with no distractions.

The depth of the water was pretty high for Beca as it ended mid stomach. She had to also get her injured leg wet and the salt water did not help the healing process one bit. Eventually, she made it over to the rocks and true enough, surrounding each one were different sizes and shapes of shells around the bottom of the floor.

Each one had its own quality-whether they were more of a white color compared to the yellowish/tan, if they were long and pointed towards the end instead of large and had those spikes at the top.

They were all different from each other.

And even some had hermit crabs in them as Beca didn't notice the movements under the water and ended up picking the shell up, only to drop it back into the ocean again with a petrified scream.

She does not do crabs. No freaking way.

One shell though caught her attention when she was scavenging along the ocean's floor. It was a fairly large shell compared to the others, probably the biggest and this time, empty inside now that Beca looks every time she picks one up. There were many points and edges around the shell with clear crystals bordering the tip, making almost impossible to grasp. The color of it was also unique as it was a burnt orange color all over that blended with a darker shade of the orange, making it look almost an auburn color.

In the middle where one would usually put their ear, the shell was shaped like a rose and felt like one too when Beca traced the ridges with her fingertips.

The first thing that came to her mind was Chloe when she admired this unique piece in her hands, not to mention the color of the shell was identical to Chloe hair. But more than that, it was just like her; the feisty edges that resembled Chloe's personality and how she could kill you in a heartbeat if she wanted to but the rose in the middle was the sweetness and the size of the girl's heart when she showed how much she cared for you.

Beca couldn't help but let a watery smile slip past her lips as she continued to study the similarities Chloe and this shell had, only causing her to miss the mermaid more and more.

" **Beca**."

She heard this faintly but doesn't know where and who exactly called her name due to the almost inaudible volume. She lifted her head to see if Jesse or Luke was trying to get her attention but when she did, she saw that they weren't really paying attention to her out in the waters and we're talking intensely about something near the fire.

" **Beca?"**

Okay, this time she was looking directly at her friends and knew they were oblivious to anything other than each other, so it couldn't of been them talking. Also, the voice was louder this time and it didn't sound like a voice that would come from two teenage boys.

At this point, Beca was freaking out at the unknown voices that filled her head, knowing no one else could possibly be on this island with them. Maybe that sting from the jellyfish was inducing some pretty heavy side effects and making her brain start to hallucinate with some crazy noises in her head that sounded like a female voice.

Yep. That was totally the case.

Beca is not crazy. Nope. Not crazy at all.

" **Becs I know you can hear me."**

This time when Beca heard the mystery voice, she knew instantly who it was. She couldn't forget that sweet tone even if she tried to forget it.

"Chloe?" She didn't know where she was but called out for her anyways. "Oh my God, Chloe?"

" **I could feel you through my shell."**

Shell? What did she mean by shell?

Obviously, Chloe wasn't present as far as Beca could tell so her last resort, she slowly lifted the shell up to her ear. "Chloe? Is that you?"

" **If you can hear me, you're probably freaking out as to why I'm not answering any of your questions."**

Being right, the inside of shell she was holding was exactly where Chloe's voice was ranging from and Beca's heart sped up so fast at the sound, she thought it might give out.

" **Right now, you have my shell where I can communicate through another shell but you can't communicate back."**

Ignoring the fact that Chloe just said Beca wouldn't be able to communicate with her, she tried anyways. "Chloe? Chloe where are you?"

" **I know you're probably worried about us, which is totally sweet by the way."**

Chloe giggled pleasantly and it was a sound Beca didn't realize she missed so much until she heard it through this shell.

" **I wanted to let you know that we found the sea witch after hours of roaming the sea and got the potion for us to take! We are actually heading back now but I just wanted to let you know where we are and that we are perfectly fine."**

Excitement filled Beca's body at the news and knowing that Chloe and her sisters were okay was like a thousand pounds lifted off her shoulders. She hoped that they would be back soon to take this potion so they could finally stop this curse from killing them. She needed Chloe back and she needed her back now.

" **Okay well if you are actually there like I think you are, don't worry, we will be back soon!"**

The noise through the cell transformed back into a buzzing hum that sounded similar to the ocean's waves and Beca figured Chloe was gone.

She couldn't believe for the second time today, Jesse has been right about stupid ideas. First the pee on her burn and second, being able to hear Chloe's voice through a simple shell. It was weird and almost a too good to be true type of feeling.

But it doesn't matter now that she has confirmation that the mermaids we okay and still alive. Actually, nothing else mattered knowing that as she was too excited and thrilled to possibly think about anything else at the moment.

Beca used the indentions on one of the large rocks she was near for her feet to climb up it until she was able to take a seat up at the top. Already as she now got a good view of the sky and ocean, she noticed the clouds were clearing up and the sun was starting to poke out from behind them. Also the waves were becoming larger and more like before.

She couldn't help but take this sight of it all as hope. Hope that everything was going to be okay, clear up any problems in the way.

And with this, the easy reminder right in front of her face as the sun slowly crept out, shining its rays and heat all over Beca's skin, she was starting to believe that everything was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :) YES I KNOW PEE ON A JELLYFISH STING IS A MYTH. Before you guys lecture me ;)  
> They finally have the potion, do you guys think it will work for them  
> Let me know in the reviews! :D


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably one of the longer chapters you guys will get for this story! I just couldn't stop yah know?
> 
> ***PLEASE READ***
> 
> Also, I'm going to remind a few of you guys that this is my fictional story. The storyline and characters introduced may not match up to things you might or might not be familiar with but it's how I want things to flow. Creatures I made up are going to be introduced this chapter and I seriously just made them up in my head. Also, Greek mythology I'm trying to stick with as far as what they were known for and who they know and who they don't. If something isn't what you read or whatever, trust me, I'm writing it for a reason.  
> Anyways, all my stories are updated so take a look at those. I'm taking a long break off writing, getting hand surgery on Friday so updates will take longer.  
> omACAgee tumblr, follow me.

"Who were you talking to?" Chloe got startled as Cynthia floated up next to where she was sitting on the rock's ledge, playing with the edges of the shell before placing it back with the rest of them.

Chloe didn't know if Beca was there are not, listening in on her through the shell back at home but she could feel something. Something like a hunch, back home that told her Beca was there.

Chloe mirrored Cynthia's smile,"a friend." She watched her tail sway in the crystal blue water that had a tint of turquoise with the glow from the lights. "A friend back home," Chloe said more clearly.

"Does this 'friend' happen to be one of the humans who put you and your sisters in this position first of all?" Cynthia furrowed her brows suspiciously.

"It wasn't _her_ fault," Chloe snapped harshly, unable to not get defensive over Beca. This clearly worked as Cynthia raised her hands up to surrender when Chloe started to feel her eyes start to transform into that foggy white. " _She_ couldn't just control the power of my voice."

Cynthia nodded her head, surprised at the "she" clarification and Chloe seemed to cool down a bit. She didn't know why she all of a sudden got so upset with Cynthia when she hinted that this whole curse was Beca's fault. Technically, and Chloe won't admit it-even thinking about it irks her skin-but Beca is the first human to get passed Chloe's luring with her voice.

But again, it wasn't Beca's fault.

Chloe doesn't know why her voice didn't work when usually in a heartbeat, sailors would be wrapped around her finger and then some; she has a pretty good guess but the truth, it's still a mystery.

"I'm sorry," Chloe quickly apologized when she realized how harsh she has been to someone she hasn't even known for ten minutes. She lowered her face to allow her eyes to change back into their normal, glowing blue.

"I see talking about this human is a touchy topic." Cynthia offered a smile when Chloe's eye color returned and she nodded her head to confirm Cynthia's assumption. "She must be pretty great if your life is on the line and you still have that moonstruck glaze in your eyes when thinking about her."

Chloe scoffed, shaking her head, "you have no idea," she said, as if she had a clue herself.

Everything was still bizarre; her feelings for Beca, how she can't go a single second without thinking about her. And it's not like she has someone to talk with about this. Of course, she had Aubrey and Stacie, but even her sisters wouldn't understand the emotion she is feeling.

Deciding to let it go, "Aubrey," Cynthia called over to where the other mermaids were swimming. "To finish the potion, we are going to need some blood from you."

Aubrey nodded her head and Stacie helped her find the sharpest piece of crystal they could find on the rock's ledge. When finding one that could cut through skin, Aubrey pressed her thumb and scraped it across the tip until blood was dripping out the slash.

She made sure to carefully drop a single drop over each individual pearl before lifting her thumb up to her mouth and sucked the cut clean.

"Here." Stacie reached for Aubrey's injured hand and feathered a light kiss over the wound. "All better."

Smiles were shared around the cave, especially Chloe as watching her sisters engage in absolute sappiness only made her more eager to swim back to Beca. Once the blood was absorbed fully through each pearl, they all closed the clams shut to start the timer until they are able to swallow it.

"Thank you again, Cynthia." Aubrey swam over to the witch and bowed her. Seeing this, Chloe and Stacie copied the action.

"Of course." Cynthia smiled when they all lifted their heads. She handed Aubrey and Stacie their bra pieces before continuing, "now go. You have some humans to keep company."

* * *

Beca was laying comfortably in the sand under the remaining sun's light with the shell placed closely down next to her. Half of herself was still telling her that she was absolutely bonkers for thinking Chloe could call her via sea shell. But the other half was telling her what she heard was real.

Hence, why wherever she went, the shell went with her.

Just in case Chloe decided to you know, call her again.

 _Jesus_ , she's fucking crazy.

Jesse and Luke have been gone for a while, looking for more things around the island, mostly any sign of civilization so they could get the Hell off this beach. They talked about it earlier, how and when they think a search party will be after them. Helicopter floating around in the sky and speed boats searching along the Pacific Ocean.

Beca told Jesse their parents probably don't give two shits about them going missing, not even checking in with where and how they were doing. It was less of a hassle without those parental duties and constant worrying about two kids they obviously don't give two shits about.

Beca thinks they're wasting their time if you ask her.

This was Chloe and her sister's home technically. Why would there be anybody living here? Even on the jungle park of the island looked just as deserted as the cave and beach part. Wherever they were, Beca is positive no one is going to be here and also, no one is going to find them unless this mystery island magically popped up on the map after two disappearances in the past month.

But who knows.

That reminds Beca. She wanted to ask about Chloe about the brothers that came sailing here a while ago; Paul and Jay. She already can take an accurate guess as to what happened to the both of them, knowing what exactly Chloe and her sisters are and their diet they grew up on-though she doesn't really want to. The brothers weren't anything close to Beca-hell, she didn't know of them besides classmates of her's until Jesse came home, rambling about his friends going missing.

The sun was starting to set briefly behind the Caribbean swells of the ocean, transforming the water into a darkened sapphire with a hint of orange as the sky above was a glowing pink. Beca's skin on the other hand was adding perfectly to the art show with her blistered redness-thanks to having zero sunscreen to put on and no top to wear above her swim suit. Maybe if she's lucky, tomorrow her sunburn will turn into a tan and somehow, her California girl genes will make an appearance, blessing her with that golden bronze skin she's been dreaming of since birth.

A girl can only hope.

The sun was descending lower and lower and the mermaids still weren't back from their little adventure to the deep seas, but knowing Chloe had the potion and was swimming her way back now made Beca feel less uneasy about the situation. Sleep hasn't even been thought about since Chloe left that morning, let alone the night before, so you could say Beca was pretty exhausted from all the nerves and especially, the afternoon she has been through.

Let's just say, getting stung by a jellyfish, peed on by her brother and talking through a shell to a mermaid million miles away in the ocean took it out of Beca _**just**_ a little bit.

Her eyes closed as she moved a single arm to reach behind her head, the warm heat from the sun still covering every inch of her skin as she lays. Relaxed for the first time today, she started to feel her senses fading in and out until the waves hit against her feet where she was at and caused her to peek an eye open. Thinking nothing of the sudden change in the direction the waves were now flowing, she closed her eyes back shut and listened to the rolling of the water.

It wasn't even a few seconds later when a large wave crashed into Beca, drenching her lungs with the ice cold salt water and scaring her half to death with the sudden force. She gasped for air and sprung up like the dead from her laying position on the sand.

"You looked like you needed to cool off a bit." A sweet voice teased.

Beca knew that voice.

She couldn't forget if she tried.

Sputtering out the salty taste and rubbing her eyes to get rid of the water, Beca saw Chloe in the distance by the rocks, covering her giggles with a single hand and looking at Beca's with a mischievous glint in her glowing blue eyes.

At first, Beca was livid that now she was soaked, woken up and had sand now morphed into mud sticking to every part of her body, thinking it was Jesse or Luke tossing a bucket of water on her just for the Hell of it. Her eyes were burning and she had sand where sand should not be placed.

But when she got a glimpse of those killer eyes she has missed so much staring back at her from the ocean, that anger was thrown right out the window and next thing was, she sprinted out into the waters, throwing herself at the mermaid in a bone crushing hug and sunk her face into Chloe's damp, wet hair.

"You're back," Beca said breathless, the coldness of the water was refreshing at first on her scorching skin but now, it was like jumping neck deep into an ice box. She wrapped her hands around Chloe's neck and instantly felt the mermaid's arms hold her up from where they were floating.

Emotional wasn't ever something that came natural to Beca, really, she never even cried much, always hating how weak and vulnerable she felt after. Of course, not liking to cry never actually prevented herself from doing so, especially with her Hell of a life back home. But now was different. Having Chloe in her arms as they floated up through the chilled water, the only thing keeping them above was Chloe's tail thrashing back and forth through the waters.

It was different.

A great type of different that couldn't stop the large knot from forming in her throat as she choked back the tears when she hugged onto Chloe's neck tighter.

"Hi." Beca pulled her face away from Chloe's neck where it was nuzzled and saw the redhead beaming a bright smile with her blue eyes now glassy.

"Hi to you too," Beca chuckled, tightening her hold around Chloe just incase she was dreaming, or hallucinating from her level of exhaustion. "I can't believe you're back. I missed you." Beca doesn't miss the shyness in Chloe's eyes and the smile on her mouth that's threatening to stretch across her face.

"I missed you too." Chloe leaned in for another hug, placing a soft kiss on Beca's cheek that left the area burning where the mermaid's lips were. "Let's get you out of the water."

Chloe swam the both of them to shore until Beca could reach the seafloor again to let go. Beca walked across the sand and smiled when she saw Chloe following her out but still kept the end of her tail submerged somewhat in the water.

With the sunset shimmering across the ocean, the clouds in the sky having this peach glow to them, it made Chloe's tail pop. Every scale had their own individual sparkle, the blueness was a shade darker, making the tail look a turquoise color and boy, was it long. Beca has seen it many times before, and maybe it should worry her that she isn't completely freaked out by the extra appendage where two human legs were suppose to be sprouting from but it doesn't. Not in the slightest.

And in fact, Beca thinks it's beautiful. Chloe's beautiful-no scratch that.

No word in the English, Spanish, French whatever Goddamn language comes even close to describing Chloe's true beauty.

Beca was deep in her admiration of Chloe's tail when a sharp gasp and a finger nearly pointing through her skin brought her out of it."What happened to your leg?!" Chloe pointed down with eyes wide and mouth gaped at the red burns on the side of Beca's leg.

The overall injury was pretty gnarly, Beca had to admit. As far as the eye watering stinging she endured earlier today, that was almost nonexistent. Tender yes. But tolerable for sure.

Looking down to see what Chloe was staring at, "oh, I got stung by a jellyfish," Beca chuckled at the memory. Now it was kind of funny what happened and less of an embarrassing topic to talk about unlike a couple hours ago where she'd rather die than talk about it. Also, the pain was almost gone so it didn't bother her anymore.

"You got what?" Chloe joined Beca's laughter and used her fingers to trace the burns on Beca's calf. She moved her fingers delicately, feathering them across Beca's skin just incase her burn was still tender. "Couldn't last one day without injuring yourself?"

"I don't know about mermaids but, chicks _love_ scars." Beca winked at Chloe who rolled her eyes with a small smile. "Like, totally dig them."

"Can't say I disagree," Chloe winked back and it made Beca's stomach do somersaults. "That's so weird. Jellyfish are so nice! You probably did something to scare the poor thing." Chloe putted her bottom lip and batted her eyelashes, making Beca feel extremely guilty at the kicked puppy dog look she had going on.

But then the memory of the excruciating pain she had to endure and Jesse's bodily functions all over her leg was enough to not make her feel bad anymore towards the jellyfish.

It was Beca's turn to roll her eyes, "more like evil, Red. I was minding my own business and the little fucker came up and attacked me."

"Awe! It was a baby Becs!" Chloe jabbed Beca's rib as the brunette tried to block the shot. The burn definitely didn't look like a baby was capable of such damage.

Flinching away, "doesn't matter. Jesse had to piss on me so I absolutely loathe jellies now." Beca pouted when she finally caught Chloe's finger and threw it back down into the sand. It didn't take much longer before Chloe caught onto what Beca just said and her eyes stretched wide.

"Jesse what?" Chloe's voice screamed amused and a little disturbed, which only caused Beca to relive the awful memory again. She yanked her hand back away from the skin. "Beca! What made you think urine would clean a jellyfish sting?!"

"Luke said since we didn't have vinegar that piss would help with the stinging!" Beca defended and found herself laughing when Chloe exploded into a fit of giggles, holding her stomach as she continued. Beca watched the way Chloe's eyes were struggling to stay open from the height of her cheeks, and how just above where Chloe's hands were grasping her stomach, defined abs muscles were visibly shown for Beca to unnoticeably stare at.

Also her bare chest, only being covered by long, damp red hair but that's nothing new to see, not that Beca could get tired of looking at _that_ view.

God, she feels so perverted just thinking about it. _Abort your eyes Mitchell,_ _ **abort**_ _**your eyes!**_

"For humans, you guys sure aren't the brightest." Chloe managed to say once she controlled her laughs and Beca lifted her eyes back up to a less suspicious area on Chloe's body without getting caught ogling the mermaid's chest.

Chloe's eyes are nice though, so Beca didn't find it that hard of a change. She could look at those glowy, icy blues for the rest of her life she thinks.

Using her arm, Beca gave Chloe a light shove. "Um, rude." This only caused Chloe to start laughing again and Beca can't say it wasn't a nice sound to listen to. Her sounds were melodic and soothing to hear and really after realization, it was a sound that Beca truly missed.

_**Meanwhile…..** _

"You see them over there?" Aubrey asked Stacie who was sitting on one of the rocks, combing through her hair with her fingers. You know, typical mermaid behavior.

Stacie hummed when looking over to where Aubrey was pointing and saw Chloe and Beca sitting on shore, sharing laughs and looking genuinely happy. "All they need is a romantic fire and I bet you anything they'll kiss."

"You think so?" Stacie paused to get a good look at body language and sure enough, all signs of affection shown between Beca and Chloe were visible. Also, the proximity of closeness was a clear indicator that the feelings there were strong and mutual.

"Wanna bet?" Stacie challenged, wagging her eyebrows up and down when Aubrey joined her on top of the rock.

Brows knitted with a smirk, "what are we betting against?" Aubrey asked with amusement, always loving a challenge.

"If they kiss, I get the whole night to do _**whatever**_ I want with you and vice versa if you win."

Contemplating the offer, Aubrey settled on the deal being pretty fair. Also, she could use a night to let loose a little bit after the stress she has been through. "Okay. Fine. I'm saying they'll kiss, you're saying they won't, right?"

"Yup." Stacie popped the "p", a look of determination wrapped in her eyes.

"Deal." Aubrey took Stacie's outstretched hand a shook, making the bet set in stone.

There was no doubt Beca and Chloe weren't going to kiss. She could basically hear her sister's thoughts and even if she couldn't, the body language around Beca was a dead give away that Chloe was swooning and swooning hard. She had zero doubts that she was going to lose this bet.

"How's your leg?" Aubrey leaned down from the rock to soak a piece of cloth she found from shore and patted the wound on Stacie's tail. It wasn't bleeding nearly as much as before but she still had to clean it up before healing it.

Flinching from the piercing sting the salt water was causing, Stacie hissed into the sky, her fangs emitting as she slammed her fists into the rocks. Aubrey closed her eyes, hating to see her girlfriend in so much pain but still continued to wash the pretty deep gash from all the blood above her scales.

"I told you not to mess with those anglerfish." This must've been the wrong thing to say because once Aubrey said it with a teasing smile, a large wave of water crashed forcefully into her frame, drowning her with the coolness.

"Shut up." Stacie spoke through gritted teeth-normal teeth-and couldn't help but chuckle through the stinging pain on her tail when she saw that Aubrey was drenched with water, her hair draped up and over her face and even had to spit a piece of seaweed out of her mouth.

"Okay, I deserved that." Aubrey was calm, fixing her hair so she could see Stacie chuckling next to her.

She finished cleaning Stacie's tail and hovered her hand over the cut until the area was healing back together. After a while, Stacie's tail looked as if she didn't just get attack by a swarm of temperamental fishes and had its shimmering, slimy glint back.

"All better." Aubrey smiled, seeing her work well done. She brushed her fingers over Stacie's scales and was glad nothing worse happened to the girl. They may be the strongest, deadliest creatures in the ocean but for one, they weren't immortal.

"Not yet." Stacie hooked her finger under Aubrey's chin and brought her face up until their lips met in a soft, passionate kiss. Pulling away with a lazy smile and catching those glowing emeralds with a haze tint, "now I'm all better." Stacie said, connecting their lips once again until pushing Aubrey back into the water and quickly following right behind.

_**Back to Chloe and Beca….** _

"How does it feel now?" Chloe stopped her teasing and traced her fingers over the burn marks again. This time, more concerned about the injury and less disgusted about the fact that what she was touching had previously been peed on.

Beca shivered under Chloe's caressing, hoping the mermaid didn't catch the flinches from where her fingers were brushing. "I barely feel it to be honest." She shrugged honestly.

"That's good." Chloe kept her fingers ghosting over the burn marks. "The little guy got you pretty good."

"Yeah, I guess. At least it wasn't a shark or something."

Chloe gasped, pulling her hand away from Beca's leg and covered her mouth. "Sharks are not the bad guys here! They're…." Chloe bounced her head back and forth, thinking of a proper word to describe the animals. Beca already thought of a word and that word was monsters. "They're just hunting, like they were created to do so."

"Well, they hunt a lot, Red. Just ask any surfer in California." Beca was expecting a chuckle, similar to her's but what she got was a scowl. A terrifying, deadly scowl that shut her up instantly.

"Really? You want to talk about killing?" Chloe cuts Beca off with a sharp tone and angry eyes. It was an expression Beca hasn't seen in a very long time. Usually the mermaid is bubbly, and has a smile on her face that almost seems permanent. "Humans have been killing sharks, these beautiful majestic creatures who are doing nothing but living the life intended for them simply because they "taste good?" You humans aren't as innocent as you think."

Beca knew shut cut Chloe deep with her comment, not realizing that sharks and mermaids basically came from the same home. _**Their**_ home. Human's territory is land; where they grew up and were raised on. For Chloe, Sharks, Dolphins, whatever it is on the ocean, that's their territory. It doesn't change Beca's fear about sharks; she still thinks they're scary as shit, one of her biggest fears when on the ocean but it definitely gives her a different aspect on the creatures. Humans are invading their home, their hunting ground and if they feel in danger or Hell, even hungry, they have to do what it takes to survive-just like we all do.

"I'm sorry Chlo." Beca lowered her head, her fingers twisting one of the corals around her ankle but could still feel the sharp, glass like stare from Chloe's eyes. "Sharks are probably…. _great_."

"They're beautiful creatures. Creatures that my sisters and I have been swimming our entire existence with around the globe," Chloe explains, her glare loosening and she resumed her motions over Beca's burns until they were fully healed.

Beca scoffed up a laugh as she glanced down at her leg and saw only scars from the jellyfish sting there-which were pretty bad ass if you asked her. It still amazed her how a person, so similar to her was capable of such amazing powers. Magic looks like a joke when it comes to powers. What Chloe and her sisters could do was truly _incredible_. Unique doesn't even come close to what these mermaids are. They're the greatest treasures Earth has ever been granted. That's what they are.

"You remind me of a shark in a way."

"Why?" Beca snorted, finally having the strength to look up at Chloe and was relieved to see her smiling and no longer looking like she wanted to tear Beca's head off. "Is it because I'm bad ass?"

Chloe giggled and with her tail still submerged in the ocean, she splashed Beca with a good amount of the water. "No." She giggled even more when the ice cold water came in contact with Beca's skin and she squealed like a pig. "It's because of your eyes."

Beca was trying to be irritated that once again, just after finally getting dry, she was wet again but couldn't when the power of Chloe's giggles made it almost impossible not to laugh as well. She spit out the water that got in her face and ran a hand through her hair that washed over her face.

Composing herself again, she gave a question glance over to Chloe who was watching her intently. "My eyes?" Beca thought she misheard Chloe but the nod in return proved that she didn't. "Why?"

"Your pupils are really big, especially when it's darker. They're almost black."

Beca smiled, having get this a lot. "Well, at least it's better than being accused of being on hardcore drugs all the time."

"What are drugs?"

Beca twisted her neck so fast to look at Chloe she thinks she might've pulled a muscle. She was about to laugh but Chloe seemed a hundred percent clueless on what it was she was referring too. Beca may or may not have forgotten the whole mermaid situation, not taking in the fact that they have never been introduced to the human world.

Not that it's that great anyway, Beca can admit.

"Drugs are bad; some are needed for medical reasons." Beca explained and Chloe slowly nodded her head, taking everything in. "Or if you want to have fun."

"Do you like to have fun?"

"Eh, sometimes." Beca shrugged with a laugh, not fully admitting to it but not denying it either. "I'm prone to headaches given by my mother and stepfather so sometimes the effects of the drug helps take the pain away."

"Do you not get along with your mother?" Chloe asked genuinely curious, missing the pinch in Beca's gut as she kept her emotions hidden.

Beca wanted to talk about these kind of things with someone. She's kept it bundled in for far too many years without a sense of release and she knows she's on the verge of exploding with how much is trapped up inside. But not here. Not with everything that's going on with the curse, the chances of the mermaids making it out alive and the chances of them not.

"Let's talk about something else." Beca offered a tight lip smile, hoping that Chloe would understand that the topic was a hard one to talk about, especially with an already closed off Beca to start with.

Chloe seemed to catch the hint and Beca was more than happy to see her return the smile and not dwell on the issue like so many other people in Beca's life has done.

"You get the potion?" Beca asked all of a sudden, remembering why the mermaids left in the first place.

Chloe reached into her newly placed shells over her chest and pulled out a clam sealed tightly shut. "It's a pearl." Flicking it open with her thumb, she lifted it to eye level so Beca could get a good look.

A red glow was pulsing through the tiny black ball, mixed with a smokey gray color and it's glossy tint shined when the sun's light beamed on it. It wasn't anything like Beca was expecting. When she thought potion, she was thinking a drink; a pot of the grossest living things on earth, blended together to make a repulsive smoothie or something to maybe injected the mermaids with. Not a tiny ball that could easily be mistaken as a piece of candy.

"Why is it red?" Beca asked and Chloe flipped the top of the clam back down, putting it back into her bra.

Shrugging, "I'm assuming the venom is starting to mix with Aubrey's blood."

Beca nodded her head. She still wasn't use to this weird, fiction life she was experiencing right now and definitely didn't understand most of it. But she is happy that Chloe came back with the cure.

"It wasn't easy but we made it." Chloe chuckled, causing Beca to knit her brows together curiously.

"What do you mean?"

_**Couple hours ago...** _

_Aubrey was leading her sisters out of the cave again, weaving through rocks, using previous scents to help with the amount of darkness. Now with the potion in their hands, all they had to do was wait until the right time to take it. Hopefully by then it wouldn't be too late._

_Chloe followed close behind her sisters as they swam quickly through the rocks. She didn't know why but they route they were going now seemed never ending._

_And ten times more darker and scarier than before._

_As they were swimming, Aubrey noticed that Stacie was no longer beside her. Turning her head and stopping Chloe in the process, they noticed Stacie stone frozen in the pitch black area, staring off in the distance at a mysterious object. Aubrey tried calling her name to get her focused back at the task at hand but nothing would judge the girl out of her bizarre daze._

" _Stacie." Chloe tried this time, her voice calm and sweet unlike Aubrey's whose voice could break glass if necessary. She hoped that if she used her powers, similar to if she was singing, she'd be able to lure Stacie in._

_But whatever it was that had her other sister hypnotized was something stronger than her voice could break._

_Aubrey swam up next to Stacie, shaking every part of her body, her arm, shoulders, face but nothing was working. Then, as she followed Stacie's line of sight, she saw a glowing, purple ball dangling on an imaginary string in the darkness, now lighting up that section of the cave in a colorful glimmer._

_Chloe got a glimpse as well, seeing that it was pretty, indeed, but nothing to be glued too like Stacie was._

_Before Aubrey could stop Stacie, she broke her arm free of the blonde's grip and swam up to the ball to get a better look, ignoring Aubrey and Chloe's combined pleas not to get any closer to whatever it was she was so entranced by._

_Once making it to the glowing ball, the whole cave lit up with similar smaller, yellow lights and showed an army of the same fish Aubrey warned Stacie about before. Stacie glanced around, not making a sound or even moving a muscle to see that see was the center of attention in a crowd full of very angry fish who won't think twice about ripping her apart. Eyes wide at the realization of what she just swam up to, a mouth the size of her face and fangs bigger than that glowed under the purple glow._

" _Stacie…" Chloe said slowly, not wanting to piss of the anglerfish anymore than Stacie has already done. She lifted her hands up, waiting to attack because out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the other fish that was surrounding Stacie gravitate closer to where she was floating._

" _What do I do?!" Stacie hissed under her voice, eyes not daring to leave the blinding whites of this monster of a fish in front of her. She should've known better to know what the light was after being warned about them the first time she encountered these fish._

_Aubrey was about to answer, telling her to not panic but to back away slowly, not wanting to frighten the fish. Chloe wanted to yell the opposite, screaming at Stacie to get the Hell out of there before this mega beast rips her face off in a single swipe. Seriously, why did this one have a purple light and why was this one like twice the size of the other fish?_

_As Aubrey opened her mouth for more orders she wanted Stacie to do, she saw one of the fish's mouth stretch wide open, getting ready to attack and raised her hands to stop them._ " _ **RUN STACIE!"**_

_She used her hands to create an underwater vortex to trap all the fish but not before the closest one not a chunk out of Stacie's tail unnoticeably. Stacie wailed in pain, a thick cloud of blood could be smelt but not seen as the glow from the fishes lights spun like a strobe light, making it almost impossible to see, even with their ability to see underwater._

_After struggling through the flashes of light, Chloe quickly swam up to Stacie and was able to grab a hold of her sister's arm. She went to pull her over in the direction where Aubrey was yelling but was stopped soon by Stacie transforming with her own set of fangs and reaching into the vortex until the the same fish with the purple light was trapped by Stacie's hold. The stare from her white eyes were doing some intense damage to its body with the way it was thrashing back and forth in the water and Chloe knew Stacie was using her powers to torture the fish._

_Not having enough by just pain, Stacie arched her neck until her fangs sharpened likes knives and were punctured straight through the fish's head before tearing it right off the body. Chloe wanted to sit and watch Stacie hulk out on a bunch of fish with the amount of anger the girl had in her body but now wouldn't be the time to do that. Yanking Stacie's arm again, she was finally able to bring her back over to Aubrey once she got her revenge._

" _Oh no," Aubrey spoke worriedly, examining the bite marks on Stacie's tail. The wound was intense but something that looked bearable and also fixable._

_The teeth marks from the fish surprisingly were able to get pretty deep by their size and just broke pass the scales as well as some of Stacie's skin right above where her tail meets her hip. Neither Chloe nor Aubrey could work their healing powers with a group of ravenous fish were right next to them, knowing the vortex they were trapped in would only keep them so long. Plus, now that Chloe has the chance to think about it, the fish Stacie just tore to shreds was probably their queen or leader and knowing that, there is no doubt they'll be even angrier than before._

" _Are you okay to swim?" Aubrey asked softly, palming Stacie's face and helped the girl ease her temper down a few notches. Once her eyes were back to normal and her teeth formed back to regular, Stacie gave her the OK to swim. Giving a small smile that also showed a sign of relief, "let's go home trouble."_

_**Back to present…** _

"God, remind me never to piss off Stacie." Beca joked, kinda. She'll never tell Chloe this but she was high key terrified of Stacie and even more scared of Aubrey. But Stacie with a temper problem made her almost not want to step a couple yards in front of the mermaid with what she was capable of.

"She's always had temper tantrums when we were younger. She is also a big fan of bright, shining objects apparently." Chloe laughed, shaking her head at the memory. "She's like a child sometimes I swear. You should've seen her the first time we saw fire. It was like the caveman all over again."

Beca laughed also, "well, at least she's alright." Chloe nodded with a smile. "Are you going to take it?" Beca asked, pointing down at the closed clam in Chloe's hand.

"Cynthia said we have to wait twenty four hours before we take it, allowing the blood and venom to mix properly."

"Twenty four hours?" Beca asked in disbelief. She thought maybe she heard Chloe wrong or something. "So you have to wait another full day?" Confirming this with a nod, Beca felt her heart start to speed up. "W-what about….what about the curse? Y-you and your sisters don't have much time and now, you have to waste some more!?" Beca was getting frustrated and couldn't help the raise in volume with her voice as her anger was starting to get the best of her.

There wasn't any response at first. Only a flinch from Chloe at Beca's tone and it instantly made Beca relax. She didn't want to yell at Chloe. She wasn't mad at her. The only thing she was mad about was this so called "potion" that needed a full day to work before the mermaids could actually take them. It wasn't like they had all the time in the world and Beca knew they were risking their lives here.

She didn't even want to think of the chances of the potion not working.

"There's no other option Beca." Chloe frowned and tore her gaze from Beca's sharp glare to look down at her hands and Beca instantly regretted saying anything at all. "It's either that or-"

"Don't," Beca politely interrupted, not wanting to hear the rest of what Chloe was about to say. She didn't want to think of the other outcome or fate for the girl. She wanted to stay positive now that Chloe brought home the potion. "I'm sorry….I just…. worry and stuff." She ran her hand through the damp hair covering the side of her face with a shrug.

"And it's super cute." This time when Chloe looked up from her hands, she had that bright smile across her face, which replaced that one saddened frown and Beca suddenly felt better again.

She doesn't know how she is going to do it, but her goal from here on out is to never let that killer smile fade away. It's way too precious to be hidden.

"Chloe!"

Both Beca and Chloe were startled by the echoed voice from somewhere on the island, breaking through the peaceful silence between them. When Beca caught two boys running from behind the rocks, she knew exactly who they were. Dumb and dumber arriving for duty.

"You're back!" Jesse breathed winded, but also excited as he joined Chloe and Beca on the shore, resting his hands on top of his knees in hope to catch his breath.

Luke came up next, less winded than Jesse and tackled Beca into the sand, hooking his bulky arms around the innocent girl's neck before she could guard herself. They both were dirty, sweaty and smelt like they have been running around the island all day which made it hard for Beca to breathe through her nose without catching Luke's repulsive scent.

"Hey Chloe." He managed to smile at the redhead but resumed his hold over Beca despite her kicks and pushes, digging his knuckles into her head. Beca eyes begged for help from Chloe but all she got was a few hidden giggles behind a hand as Luke continued digfing through her skull.

When Jesse finally caught some air back into his lungs, he stood up straight to pop a squat down next to Chloe on the sand, also ignoring the pleads of help from Beca under Luke's hold. "Did you get the cure? You're not fish fry yet so I'm assuming it stopped the curse."

Using all her strength to stop the nuggies, Beca pushed Luke off with a pissed off scowl and her hair now a birds nest on top of her head. "God, you're such an asshole!" Beca went to grab some sand and chucked it over to where Luke was rolling around laughing, hitting the boy in the stomach but doing no damage. "And no Jesse. They have to wait a day before they can take the potion."

"A day?" His reaction was the same as Beca when she first heard this. Shocked. "Are….are you sure you guys have enough time? You know, before the curse gets to you?"

"Like I told Beca, we have no other choice but to wait and see." Chloe repeated and gave him a smile that relaxed him a bit. Beca knew it was forced but let it go.

Luke and Jesse took this as a topic to leave alone for the time being and changed the subject by chatting about the new space this discovered above the cave. All land as well and they both had no idea how far it traveled for but with what they walked today was telling them the island had a possibility of being quite big. It was all jungle, so they say, and had trees with branches that carried hanging fruit. Of course, it was too high for them to reach without the proper tools but at least now, there was other food on the island besides fish they could eat. Beca knows that she was able to eat fish this morning but eating it everyday was pushing it.

She also didn't know when they'd be able to go back home to eat real food and could sense that Chloe didn't want to talk about them leaving when Jesse brought it up. Beca knew if the potion ends up working, Chloe, Aubrey and Stacie would be able to go with them and experience Santa Cruz for themselves.

But there was also the slight possibility of the cure not working, or even the chance of the mermaids running out of time before they can even take the potion. That was also something Chloe didn't want to talk about because it was already something running through her mind constantly.

Deciding to drop that conversation as well, Beca asked Chloe to relight the campfire since the sunset was almost finished and it was getting darker outside. Jesse and Luke had no problem with going out into the ocean to hunt again, even though Chloe, being the world's dangerous predator and all, could easily bring back an armful of food for them to eat.

And even probably a variety of different fish to chose from.

But, not wanting to crush the boy's spirits and seeing that the mermaid didn't want to kill her own species, Chloe and Beca sat back on shore around the fire, watching them take their spears out to the water and start to poke around in the ocean for food.

It was nice and this way, Beca could make up for lost time with the mermaid and enjoy her presence.

She was glad Chloe was back and hopefully, back for good.

* * *

Nighttime rolled around rather quickly. Luke and Jesse came back with a fish a piece, which was more than enough food for the three of them. Chloe hung out with them by the fire as they all ate until she started to feel a little to dry from sitting above water for so long. She dismissed herself from the group and took a swim, her skin already feeling replenished once she fully dunked herself under water and headed over to her rock.

Plopping herself on top, she noticed that her shells were out of place, specifically her Pacific Murex Ramosus that she brought back from home. She smiled when she lifted it up, knowing that Beca was listening in on her as she tried to communicate not too long ago. Whatever hunch or feeling that made her skin tingle that Beca was there listening, a million miles away was right and it made Chloe happy but also, it made her nervous.

The feelings for Beca were only getting stronger the longer she was around the human. Almost too strong that she had a feeling that she'll end up losing any sense of control in her body.

Breaking her gaze from her shell, she saw in the distance Beca swimming up towards the rock and over to where she was sitting.

"Hey Ariel." Beca said with a smirk before joining Chloe on her rock.

Chloe admired every inch of skin on the brunette's body, more so her stomach than anything else. The way her muscles would flex as Beca lifted herself up and the way the moon's light would reflect off her skin that was transforming into a golden tan. She scooted over enough so Beca had room to sit without her butt behind half off the rock and averted her eyes away to look at something else.

"Ariel?" Chloe knitted her brows at the nickname. "I thought we've been over this. Ariel wishes that she was us."

"That's true." Beca bobbed her head side to side defeated. "You're the way better redhead with the better voice."

Chloe shaped a smaller smile, cutting the actual grin wanting to stretch in half by biting the insides of her cheeks. She didn't know why it was only Beca but one thing out of the girls mouth could make her feel like a bucket of goo in the matter of seconds.

In Beca's hands, she was holding some fish left over from the fire and Chloe glanced down as to why she decided to bring it over. Following Chloe's confused stare, "Oh," Beca lifted up the fish. "I just like...wanted to see if you wanted any." Handing over the fish, Chloe politely declined the offer, not really wanting to take a stab at basically one of her own kind. That'd be like cannibalism for the fish world.

But the gesture made her heart skip a few dozen beats.

"Are you hungry?" Beca asked, deciding to finish the fish for herself. The thing was, Chloe is starving now that her diet has changed from humans to absolutely nothing. She doesn't even know what she can and can not eat, never really having the option to chose before.

"Yeah….I just, what could I eat?"

"Well, maybe you're a girl who has a love for fruit." Beca suggested, smile growing wide enough to split her face. Fruit is something that Chloe has heard of before but not enough that she was familiar with the different kinds. "Maybe tomorrow when we have light, I could go up to the forest and bring down some of the fruit the boys claimed to be up there."

Chloe keeps the amount of swooning to herself. How thoughtful Beca is was something she never really experienced from another person other than her sisters. The thought of being cared about and her health being on top of Beca's priority list also played a pretty large factor to the way her heart was thumping so hard against her chest she thinks it might pop right out.

They sat in silence for a bit. Chloe took the time to stare into the moon and watch the way its glow reflects off the gentle waves of the ocean. This rock is a place where she usually sits alone, taking in nature as it comes, probably making jewelry or humming soft melodies out into the open. Being here with someone else was different though. The good type of different.

"Wanna know something?" Chloe hummed in approval. "My high school set up the Little Mermaid as a play and guess who was the one to play Ariel?"

"Hmm, it wouldn't happen to be a tiny brunette with an attitude problem?" Beca rolled her eyes at the teasing but nodded her head.

"Bingo."

"No way!" Chloe's eyes widen at the image of Beca dressed as mermaid with bright red hair. She wasn't too familiar with the movie, once in awhile when she swam up to shore a few times, she saw kids watching it through some sort of portable DVD player, or had towels with a yellow fish and a mermaid decorated on top.

"Yep. First and only play I was in. Who knew it would be some kind of foreshadowing and I'd eventually meet a couple of gorgeous mermaids on a deserted island."

Chloe lowered her face when she felt her cheeks heat up with a flush. This girl is going to be the death of her someday.

"I still remember the songs as if they were written on the back of my hand." Beca said, clearing her throat to prepare her for whatever it was she was about to do. " _Look at this stuff, isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think, my collection's complete? Wouldn't you think I'm the girl. The girl who has everything?"_

Chloe had no idea what on Earth Beca was singing but that obvious clueless behavior didn't stop her from hearing the enchanting voice Beca brought to her ears. Of course she has heard her own voice, Stacie's and Aubrey's combined and it wasn't a surprise at how well they all could sing. It was basically what they were created to do. Lure sailors in, kill them. Lure some more sailors in, kill them too.

It became a frequent thing to do.

But none of their voices even came close in comparison to Beca's.

" _Look at this trove, treasures untold. How many wonders can one cavern hold? Lookin' around here you'd think. Sure, she's got everything..."_ Beca floated the end a bit, forgetting the next verse of the song. Chloe started to giggle at how adorable Beca is, her singing only adding to her adorableness, making it impossible to focus on anything else. "It's been a while."

Chloe would've never guessed. "You have a lovely voice Beca."

Beca snorts, "I bet you're just saying that. Your voice is something to be impressed by."

"No! Seriously." A bold move comes next from Chloe as she reaches out to grab one of Beca's hand to sit on her tail. The shocked look on Beca's face was probably the same one she had on her's. "Your voice is amazing Beca and a mermaid never lies."

"Well thank you, Chlo," swallowing the threatening noise down at the newly and very appreciative nickname, Chloe took a deep breath to regroup. Hands still tangled together, Beca reached over with her free hand to grab something off the rock before giving it over to Chloe.

Looking down, she saw it was a true tulip shell with golden strips around the outside and a perfectly smooth curve along the inside. This was one she has never been able to find along shore wnehever she looked, never being able to go up far on land without having a hard time breathing.

And why didn't she see Beca carrying this up when she was swimming over here? The size of the shell was fairly large and would've seen it by a mile.

Maybe it was because she had her eyes focused on other things, those other things being Beca's toned body.

Yeah, that's the reason for sure.

"I don't know what was going on with the weird phone call between shells and honestly, it still freaks me the fuck out that I spent the afternoon talking into a shell like a crazy person." Chloe laughed at this, brushing her thumbs over the ridges and points on the shell, studying every last inch. "But I saw your collection next to this rock and took it that you enjoy collecting them. I found this one farther up on the shore and thought of you."

Chloe opened her mouth as if she were going to say something but the twisting in her stomach prevented her from doing so. That feeling in her gut was back again and was back again strong. The idea that Beca stopped at a random object on the beach, thinking of Chloe while picking it up was the main cause to this feeling hitting Chloe like a tsunami.

"You probably already have like...twenty of that kind or whatever." Beca laughed sheepishly as Chloe sat it down to join the others.

"Actually, it's one that I didn't have." Chloe was finally able to muster up something coherent to say and glad she did so by the way Beca's whole body lit up. "It's beautiful Becs. Thank you."

"Of course." Beca smiled until a furrow in her brows made itself present, causing Chloe to throw a puzzled look at what was wrong.

She flinched her head back when Beca reached out to swipe her thumb along her cheek bone, not really knowing what was going on and why Beca felt the need to touch her face.

"You're crying." Beca lifted her thumb to show Chloe a shiny clear liquid covering the skin and reached up to feel for herself. She couldn't believe it.

She was actually _crying_.

She has only seen tears once, and they weren't even tears produced by her. It was the first time Stacie and Aubrey fell in love and ever since witnessing that scene years ago, she only hoped that someday she'd be able to cry over someone or something. But now, feeling the wetness along her fingers that seemed to be streaming faster down her cheeks at the realization that she finally found someone to cry over.

And that someone being no other than Beca.

"Oh my crabs," Chloe gushed, the raise in her cheeks only making her eyes squeeze out more tears. Crying wasn't like she expected it to be. She couldn't see and her vision became foggy and her nose was starting to run with another liquid that she had no idea what it was. If Beca didn't make the first move, she would've never assumed she'd be crying with the tears being basically weightless.

"You're the most alluring thing I have ever laid eyes on." Leave it to Beca to make Chloe feel like a princess when she feels like a complete and utter mess. "Even when you say weird mermaid slang like 'oh my crabs.'"

Chloe coughed up a watery laugh from her chest, wiping away the tears from her cheeks. One of them managed to roll pass her lips and when she stuck her tongue out, the liquid tasted a lot similar to the ocean.

"Am I crying saltwater?" Chloe's eyes widened at this. She has been swimming so long in the ocean that now her tears tasted identical to it.

Beca helped with drying away her tears, using her thumbs to wipe them away the areas were tear free. "No you dork. All tears taste like that, even mine."

Chloe nodded her head, relieved that she didn't ruin the whole experience. The crying soon stopped, her eyes were puffy and they stung a little when she blinked. Overall, crying wasn't anything like she expected it was going to be.

But the thought of finally finding someone worth crying over made the crying oh so much better than what it actually was.

Silence hit the two of them again; Beca had her face close to Chloe's, close enough to the point where her puffs from her breath spread against Chloe's lips. A hand was cupping the side of her jaw while the other continued to be glued to Chloe's other hand and then, she leaned in to close the distance, pressing her lips softly over Chloe's. It was barley even a peck but was long enough to make Chloe's body jolt at the warmth.

Immediately pulling away, panic rushed to Beca's eyes as she started apologizing over and over again until Chloe shushed her with a hand to the brunette's mouth.

"You're fine. The kiss was more than fine." That was truly an understatement. How she had the power to pull away from the kiss, she'll never know. "It's just….I didn't want our first kiss to be like this. With _**me**_ like this."

Chloe saw the wave of confusion hit Beca and lifted her tail up from the water to back up her words. She was still a mermaid and wanted their kiss to be special when they were both humans. Not when she was still half fish. "You could never fall in love with a creature that looks like this." She lowered her head until the hand still placed on her jaw lifted it back up to eye level with Beca's dark blues.

"What if I already am?" Beca said, proving a point by not only the sincerity laced in her eyes but by her raw, genuine words.

Chloe was still a little self conscious about the whole situation, not wanting to rely on this image she has with Beca with loads of false hope but the abnormal fluttering around in her stomach caused her to toss that thought away and lean back in until their lips met back together.

Again, only ever witnessing a kiss from her sisters, the actual experience as a whole was so much better than she could've imagined. It was like her entire body was under endless electrical shocks given by an eel and her stomach felt like there was a cage of seaweed let loose it the pit of her gut.

The kiss was salty and Chloe didn't know whether it was from the tears or from the water but nonetheless, the kiss did more than live up to her expectations. Beca was gentle, not wanting to move too fast and if she wasn't holding onto Chloe right now, she thinks she would've floated away.

How could someone ever get sick of kissing because honestly, Chloe didn't understand the strength someone would have to have for them to stop. She could kiss Beca all day and all night if she had the choice to do so.

"I told you!" This voice brought them out of the kiss and while Chloe looked around the perimeter for the person responsible, she saw two guilty looking suspects hiding under the waters with only their heads poking out, looking a lot like her two sisters.

"You did not win! They didn't kiss at the campfire, they kissed on a rock!" Stacie countered.

"Oh well they still kissed!" Aubrey battled back.

The both of them erupted into a fit of laughter as Aubrey and Stacie continued to argue back and forth until they were back fully under the water.

 _Way to ruin a moment guys,_ Chloe thought to herself, making a mental note to hassle them about it later. Plus, who gave them the right to bid on her and Beca kissing? Definitely not her and probably not Beca.

"Um. Wow." Beca breathed a chuckle and Chloe buried her face in Beca's damp hair, embarrassed by her two sisters. "That was um.." She cleared her throat, her voice raspy and low and kind of intoxicating for Chloe. She's never heard it this way before.

" _Amazing_." Chloe finished for Beca, taking it that she was having a hard time settling on a word that fit. She felt Beca relax a bit and said, "thank you."

"For what?"

Chloe had a list of reasons why to say thank you to Beca but the biggest one was making her feel the most human she has ever felt before in her entire life, even when she was far from it. That's all she wanted was to feel normal for once and not some monstrous creature that feeds off of innocent people for a living. With Beca, with the kiss, she finally felt less like a monster and more like a human.

She wrapped her other arm around Beca's that was still intertwined with her's, hugging it closer into her frame. "For giving me a first kiss I have only spent a hundred years dreaming about."

* * *

"So, we all knew you were a lesbian but damn Becs. Got the hots for a mermaid?" Jesse said to Beca with so much amusement it was oozing from his pores. They were having a peaceful walk down the shore, taking a nice stroll before it was time for the mermaids to take the potion and kind of wanted to shake out all the nerves.

For Beca, she was stoked to see if the potion was going to cure them but in the back of her head, there was a clear reminder that it might not work. That thought though was becoming smaller and smaller since it was already almost twenty four hours and the mermaids looked better than ever. Plus Chloe didn't seem to worry as much.

That or she was excellent to keep it from showing.

"I guess you just really like the taste of fish."

Beca gasped, using her hand to punch Jesse in his ribs. "That's gross! Don't say that!" Despite the pain and trouble breathing now, Jesse was laughing and she couldn't help but to laugh as well.

She blamed it on the giddiness from the post kiss with Chloe. It was something she has never experienced before and could still feel the mermaid's lips over her's. Cliche and cheesy was never something Beca wanted to come out of her mouth but last night, was magical, and something she could relive over and over again for the rest of her life.

God, she sounds so queer balls right now.

"Speaking of mermaid.." Jesse dangled for Beca to catch the hint as to where he was looking and when she did, she saw Chloe leaning on shore with her back dipped and tail waving back and forth in today's clear water.

Not taking her eyes off the redhead with that same dopey grin plastered on her mouth, "I'll be back," she said and jogged her way over to the mermaid who was hanging out under the beaming sun.

Sitting down on the sand next to Chloe, she brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin over the tops. "Hey you."

"Hi." Beca was glued to Chloe's smile and slight hint of a reddened blush under her eyes. Every morning it seems like, she thinks Chloe get more and more beautiful, even when she thought it wasn't possible. "How was your morning?"

"Pretty good. Jesse and I walked around the island and he showed me part of the island that him and Luke found yesterday. Did you know that the land runs this big?"

"Well, no. We couldn't go on land because of obvious reasons and Aubrey was only able to walk around for so long."

Beca face palmed herself at this. Duh, Mitchell. They were mermaids who are half fish. Walking on land isn't even an option for them. "I keep forgetting." She chuckled embarrassingly.

"What? You forgot that I had this thing connected to my body?" Chloe lifted her tail up in the air to prove a point before splashing it back down in the water.

Admiring the sparkle and blueness of the tail as a whole, Beca was reeled up deep by how beautiful it is, not that she didn't think it was beautiful when she first laid eyes on it. Maybe it took a while to get use to since it was the most abnormal thing she has seen before but now, it's fascinating.

It almost makes Beca wonder if after they take this potion, will their tails be gone permanently? They grew up with these things and are basically what makes them who they are. She can't even imagine just getting rid of something that big. If that's the case, she can't even lie and say she won't miss Chloe's tail.

"Since you got me a shell last night, I got something for you." Beca was torn out of her little stare towards Chloe's tail by the sweet voice.

Beca was about to ask what it was until Chloe curled her fingers in the direction of the deep waters to create a small wave in the distance. As she got a better look, the wave was carrying something that looked like a board of some sort but couldn't get a good grasp of what it was with being so far away.

Once it got closer and almost hitting shore, she could now tell it was a surfboard by the size and design on the top. The color was a clear teal with a white border to cover the edges and had wave designs to run through the middle. It was anything compared to Beca's board because once you've surfed with one for years, you build a bond and she knows her's is back at home.

But this one was almost just as nice.

She walked into the water and carefully picked the board up, taking note that it wasn't a longboard like her's but a instead a smaller gun board that had sharp point at the top and bottom. Never really trying a board of this kind; she knew Luke's board was a gun and knew Jesse's was a tiny fish board, she was excited to test it out.

"When I first met you, you were out surfing." Chloe spoke all of a sudden as Beca examined the board's state. So far everything was in good shape, which is surprising since she had no idea where Chloe found this. "You looked so... _majestic_ and the smile on your face would be able to light up the night if wanting to. I wanna bring that smile back."

"What are you saying, Red?" Beca gave a challenging raise to her eyebrows and instead of answering, Chloe lifted her hands up towards the water again and started to form waves of all sorts, from large to small in the distance away from them.

Beca smirked the instant she saw that the waves weren't just ordinary waves but in fact, the perfect waves to ride and now that she had a board-which she still doesn't exactly know where Chloe found the thing- there was no way she was going to pass up this chance.

Luckily for Beca, the board had an ankle leash and she began to wrap it around the opposite foot she had the corals on, snapping the velcro together. "I'll race yah." Getting up from the sand with the extra head start, she ran into the water until she could no longer reach the seafloor and jumped stomach down on the board before paddling out deep where the waves were beginning to form.

As she was dunking under the waves she didn't want to ride to miss the force, her legs helping her swim by kicking powerfully through the water, she opened her eyes underneath to peek and saw Chloe coming up behind her fast, swimming almost at the speed of light. She should've probably known that there was no way in Hell of beating Chloe at a race because 1). Chloe has been swimming since her birth and 2). She had an extra body part connected at her torso unlike Beca who only had a pair of short legs that swam at a mediocre level.

But like always, the hope was there.

And the hope was long gone once Chloe zipped by underneath the water, creating a storm of bubbles in Beca's face from the speed she passed by and in the matter of seconds, she was already yards on top of yards away from where Beca was at.

"I won!" Chloe yelled from the distance, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice and Beca could only roll her eyes.

Maybe in her head, she bounced the idea that Chloe cheated or she was rusty from not swimming in a while but even that didn't help her shattered ego.

Eventually after what seemed like years, she made it out deep to where Chloe was hovering at and was greeted by a smug smirk and she knew the endless brags were about to be piled on. Being nice though, Chloe brushed off her win quicker than Beca was expecting and only gave that signature sweet smile as a warming welcoming deep into the waters.

"How fast can you swim?" Beca asked suddenly curious. If she had a stopwatch, she wouldn't hesitate on making Chloe swim back and timing how long it would take for her to swim back. Impressive didn't even come close as to what the mermaid just did. "You have to be the fastest in the ocean right? Because that was insane!"

"Oh stop." Chloe waved away the compliments with her smile only stretching farther and a threatening blush colored her cheeks under the sun. "Though my sisters and I are very fast swimmers, the fastest in the ocean is a sailfish. We already tried racing and it didn't go too well."

"Sailfish?" Beca moved so she was now dangling her feet in the dark blue water as Chloe leaned her elbows up to rest against the other end of the board while the calm water swayed them back and forth. "The fish with the pointy nose? Kinda like a sword?"

"Yeah!" Chloe seemed impressed that Beca knew of these fish. They had a plastic one hanging up at Jesse's favorite restaurant and their toothpicks were shaped identical to them, so she was familiar. "They're little devils but have their sweet moments….oh! Speaking of little devils.."

Beca watched confused as Chloe lifted her hands up to her mouth and blew a long, piercing whistle out to literally nobody when she followed the direction to where the mermaid was calling to. "What are you doing?" She glanced around to hopefully find whoever it was Chloe was communicating to but found nothing. They were alone, out in the middle of the ocean with the island a good enough distance away. Maybe she's crazy or something Beca thought.

Soon, a fin rose up from the water and began to circle around Beca and Chloe who sat on the surfboard.

"A dolphin?" Beca couldn't hide the excitement once she barely got a glimpse of the animal swimming underneath. She has always dreamed of swimming with dolphins ever since her dad and mom took her to Sea World before life got chaotic and saw all the people there taking turns to swim with them.

The dolphin swam up to Beca, brushing it's body against her leg and she grabbed a hold of the animal's fin with a megawatt grin. This was hands down the coolest thing she has ever done. Swimming with dolphins? What if!

Chloe bit her lip guilty, without Beca noticing as she was too focused on the animal underneath. "Not quite."

Beca stopped all movements and froze on spot. What did Chloe mean by not quite? Was she saying this dolphin wasn't actually a dolphin? If that's the case, what the Hell was she touching and what the Hell was swimming this close to her legs? Keeping her melt down at a minimum, she was brave enough to peek over the board but couldn't see anything but a dark shadow with a fin.

"Remember Becs to stay calm. I don't want to freaking out and threatening the little guy." These words weren't as reassuring as Chloe hoped they would be, seeing the panic lace Beca's eyes the instant she said something. Beca was about five seconds away from screaming bloody murder if Chloe didn't tell her soon what was swimming below them. Also, this thing was everything but _little_. It ran double the size of her and Chloe combined so that there was ridiculous and only made her levels of panic heighten.

Then, she studied the fin that seconds ago she had her hand all over and saw that it was a straight, trailing edge unlike a dolphin's fin, which has a definite curve to it.

And using her knowledge on what she knows about sea creatures, the only other fin that has a point this sharp and a fin this straight is a shark. And that's all Beca needed to know before she quickly pulled her legs up from the water, cradling them with her arms and ordering Chloe to swim them far away from the area before this beast takes a few large chunks out of them.

"First of all, he is not a beast, Beca." Chloe seemed to either be ignoring Beca's worried pleas to get them out of the water, or was oblivious to them since she acted normal and continued to talk. "You humans give them a bad rep and make them out to be some man eating, killing machines."

"Chloe, I told you I understood that and I'm sorry for speaking so badly of them. I am sure they're sweethearts but right now, in the open waters with no first aid kit and no lifeguards, I'm not comfortable with testing that hypothesis!" Beca rushed out, her fear getting the best of her and jumped every time the shark's tail grazed the bottom of the board. She has never been this close to a shark before, let alone touched one, and though it was an adrenaline rush knowing she was this close to one of her biggest fears, the thought of this animal striking at any given moment was still nagging at the back of her brain.

She's too young to die.

Too young to get devoured in the middle of the ocean.

"Beca, this is Bruce. Bruce, this is Beca." Chloe introduce with a smile as if she hadn't noticed Beca on the verge of tears and she now knows for sure the mermaid is ignoring her.

Despite her racing heart rate, and panic rushing through her veins, Beca snickered at the name. "Bruce?" Chloe nodded her head for verification. "Like in Finding Nemo?"

"Finding who?"

Beca shook this off, dumb question to be referencing movies to a mermaid. "I'm terrified to ask, but what kind of shark is he?"

"Great white." Beca gulped, glancing down again at the water and saw the shark still sitting underneath the surfboard. Duh. Of course. What else would it be? "They're an endangered species but people don't understand that they can be gentle creatures. I want you to get to know him for who he truly is. Not the usual grumpy self you see on land."

Beca wanted to scoff. The noise was tickling the back of her throat. Gentle? Yeah right. Jesse has forced her to watch the movie Jaws and that shark was everything but gentle. Maybe more along the lines of dangerous and the most deadliest predator in the ocean.

That is until Chloe and her sisters went all psycho mermaids on them and changed Beca's views on who was the deadliest.

But also the... _prettiest_? It was a weird combination. She knows.

"You want to feed him?" Chloe suggested with a clap to her hands excitedly. No absolutely not. That's the last thing Beca wants to do right now. She rather die than feed a killer, great white shark.

Just kidding.

She takes that back.

Without an answer, Chloe caught a couple fish from under the water from the heat she created with her powers and soon, a few floated up to the surface. Grabbing one that was a lot larger than Beca would have thought it was going to be, she handed it over, slapping it down into open arms. Beca had to use two hands to hold the fish up at the surprising weight and at the smell, the shark's nose was above the water, staring back at Beca, waiting patiently for her to hand the food over.

The shark and her had a stare off that lasted for what felt like hours and once Chloe started to hum impatiently and tap her fingers against the board, Beca took a deep breath in and out to gain some much needed courage if she planned on feeding this thing.

Using her trembling hands, she dangled the fish above the shark's nose and before she could react, a vicious set of teeth in the mouth tore the fish away from her grip violently. Her stomach dropped at the action, grateful that her hand wasn't taken away with the bite. She screamed as a reflex and backed away on the board again, away from the shark and saw Chloe giggling but had a proud tint in her eyes.

Feeding a shark wasn't one to be on Beca's bucket list and something she never thought in a million years she'd end up doing but the thought that she finally faced her fear and was in an arm's reach of such a truly, majestic creature was enough to leave her giddy.

"I can't believe I just did that!" Beca exclaimed, not being able to control the high volume in her voice.

"You did good, Becs!" Chloe giggled some more at Beca's excitement and the aftermath of pure adrenaline. "Bruce says thank you."

Beca reached down to where the shark was and grazed her fingers along the head, no longer scared of him-which she didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad. It was nothing like she thought it was going to be and actually, shark's skin is very unpleasant with the sandpaper like feel it had under her fingertips. The all of a sudden courage though was nice to experience and she was more than eager to swim back to shore to tell the boys.

Chances are they wouldn't even believe her with knowing how deathly afraid she was of these sea animals.

"Thank you, Chloe." Beca said, her eyes still locked on the shark before his figure disappeared in the dark blue color of the ocean as he swam away. "Sharks are awesome."

Chloe reached out to tangle her fingers with Beca's closest hand, her skin was smooth and soft unlike Beca's whose skin was dry and pruney but still, it sent shocks down her spine whenever Chloe touched her skin. "I told you so." Then she gave a winning smirk and batted her lashes.

All the adrenaline pumping in her body Beca used as a helping push to lean over the board and drop a soft kiss over Chloe's lips. Even the second time, she swear that her breathing stopped and felt the same tingling sensation she felt the previous night all over again.

Chloe seemed to be experiencing mutual feelings as she sighed into the kiss and curved her mouth into a face splitting grin when Beca finally had the strength to pull away.

Who knew kissing a mermaid could be like...the best thing ever?

Breaking them away from their little moment, Aubrey and Stacie were yelling for them to swim back to shore so they can get started with the task at hand. Almost forgetting about the curse and potion the mermaids had to take, Beca hastily flipped over to her stomach on the board, ready to start paddling back in.

"Wanna do me a solid and make some killer waves for me to surf back to shore?" Beca wiggled her eyebrows up and down. "This will probably be the only time you hear it from me but you're a lot faster and would get there quicker if I were to just paddle back."

Chloe tossed Beca an equally challenging glance before using her powers to form a gigantic wave behind them. "It would be my pleasure." And she wished Beca luck before submerging into the waters while the wave was in full motion.

Looking over her shoulder as it got closer, she started swimming with her arms and legs to generate some speed. As soon as she felt the back of the board lift, letting her know that the wave was ready to ride, she stood up slowly on the board to set her stance and angle her arms to keep balance.

Surfing was the one thing she missed about being back home. The burn in her quad muscles as she kept a locked stance, the way the fresh air hit her wet skin and the overall feeling of freedom as she rode. It was a stress reliever, a place where she could have the quiet time to think about things to herself without other people getting in the way and also enjoy herself while at it.

She made it to shore after riding a few until the tide drifted her the rest of the way in. Chloe, as well as the others, were already there waiting, but Chloe was watching her intently as Beca jogged back up the sand. She might've teased a little bit once she saw the hazy glare in Chloe's eyes and how her mouth was slightly gaped open and also she felt like one of those lifeguards from Baywatch so she felt like a more slow motion run with the infamous hair flip was needed.

Maybe nonchalantly picking a wedgie she got from the waters. Nothing too drastic.

After making it to shore and stabbing the tip of the board in the sand, she plopped down exhausted next to Chloe. Jesse sat down right after and handed her a bottle of water so she could stay hydrated and she was more than happy to down the whole bottle in only a handful of gulps.

"Are you guys ready to take these?" Aubrey situated herself on shore with Stacie following behind.

Each mermaid pulled out their own clams and when they opened them, they saw it was no longer glowing in red and was now a glossy, black marble. Beca was biting her thumbs, nervous that this could either be the best thing, or the worst. Now, especially after the kiss from last night, she can't even imagine a life without Chloe right there next to her. Just the thought made her feel sick to the stomach.

The mermaids picked up each pearl and Beca handed Chloe the little bit of water she had left to help with swallowing it. Mouthing a quiet thank you, Beca could tell she wasn't the only one nervous about this potion. Chloe stared at it for a while, twisting the ball around in her fingers before she saw that Stacie and Aubrey already swallowed theirs.

Beca caught the hesitation and reached her hand up to grab Chloe's free hand for comfort. "You good?" She asked cautiously, knowing for sure there was something bugging Chloe on the inside.

"It's just….I've spent a hundred years as a mermaid, with this tail and now it feels like I'm starting all over." Chloe admitted softly, her eyes weak. "It's just surreal to think that everything I've been taught, everything I know and learned aren't going to matter anymore."

"That's not true." Beca wanted to voice what she thought. "You're amazing as a mermaid and you'll be amazing as a human. I promise." She assured and hoped that Chloe would believe every last word she said because nothing could make the mermaid any less extraordinary than she already is.

"You must think I have bubbles in my brain or something." Chloe chuckled, shaking her head.

These words if came out of a completely different person would've made Beca cringe at how ridiculous they sounded coming out of a mouth. But with Chloe, these words had to be the cutest damn thing she has heard in her twenty plus years of living. "Maybe just a little." Beca shrugged with a teasing smirk. "But it's super cute."

Using Beca's words as a cue, she stuck the ball in her mouth and drank some water to swallow it down as Luke, Jesse and Beca were watching like hawks. At first, nothing happened to all three of the mermaids. They waited a little bit longer and still, nothing was happening to them, not even the slightest of changes were making itself present on their forms.

"Maybe it takes a while to kick in." Jesse was trying to be optimistic and look at the brighter things but all the he was doing was making Beca nerves start right back up.

"Yeah, maybe." Chloe tried to take Jesse's words in, but Beca could hear the shakiness in her voice and the tight grip around her hand was a clear indicator that Chloe was freaking out.

Suddenly, the water on shore soaked up back into the middle of the ocean, away from where they were sitting, like something quite large was emerging out from the middle. Then, being right, a girl with beautiful, dark skin and a pink stripe through her hair lifted from the waters and floated her way over to where they all were sitting.

"Are those tentacles?!" Jesse shrieked when one of those slimy things brushed up against his foot and Luke caught his deadweight before passing out cold in the sand. Beca rolled her eyes at her brothers habit to always pass out-though she was pretty shocked at what she was staring at now feet away from her.

Mermaids first now this woman who is half octopus? What the Hell wake is there humans didn't know about?

"Cynthia?" Aubrey seemed surprise that she was up above waters and Beca figured that this woman, who was half octopus it looked like is the sea witch that the mermaids traveled down to find not too long ago. "What are you doing here?" Now her voice sounded concerned.

"Your father." Cynthia breathed, not answering Aubrey's question like the blonde hoped, with her face tensed and she looked awful if you were to ask Beca. But not awful in a fashion sense but awful in a sense that she looked worried and even on the lines of scared of something. "Your father is dead."

"What?" All three mermaids said in unison and even Beca couldn't stop her mouth from dropping. Chloe's eyes changed from her once bright blues to eyes filled with fear, and concern.

"Lurkers, they destroyed my cave and are after you." Cynthia warned with wide eyes and had some gashes along the sides of her arms that were dripping small droplets of blood into the water. Beca could feel Chloe's hand tightening harder and harder and her curiosity to what was going on all morphed to worry when there was a sudden temperature drop in the water where her feet rested.

Chloe noticed this too, moving her hand to dip her fingers in the water. "Beca, when you got stung by the jellyfish, where were you at?" Beca was taken back by the shift it direction this conversation was going by Chloe's question. She was thinking of more along the lines of explaining what the fuck was going on and who the fuck were lurkers and why the Hell are they after them?!

"Uh, close to shore. Around here actually." The three mermaids shared a glance that was enough to tell Beca by the look something was terribly wrong. "What's going on? Is it Demeter?"

Chloe shook her head. "No." She answered quietly. "It's much **_worse._** " Beca gulped, now her own fear hitting an all time high.

Who could be worse than the monster who put this curse on them in the first place?

"It's Poseidon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #Save the sharks  
> Happy fourth y'all (those who live in the USA) WOOOOO! Be safe and make good choices! :D


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The response I'm getting for this story is unbelievable. I can't believe there are so many sluts out there that enjoy sexy mermaids as much as I do! Together, you all make my heart cramp :') Here's the next chap for all yous out there reading! Stay beautiful, stay golden, and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> *ALL STORIES UPDATED

"Poseidon?" Beca echoed the question, confusion lacing every inch of her face. She glanced over to Jesse and Luke also, seeing that they were sharing a similar stare. "That dude actually exists?" Beca remembered hearing this name before, watching movies or listening to the fictional stories Jesse would always ramble to her. Never though would she of thought those things would end up being _real_.

She also didn't think mermaids were real and turns out they most definitely were so, that didn't really help her case here.

"Yes he's real," Chloe confirms softly, a single nod to her head that was hesitant. Beca could tell whoever this Poseidon guy is was nothing but bad news.

"That… _dude-"_ Aubrey mocked in a dumb tone, "-is related to Demeter." Beca rolled her eyes at the sassiness in Aubrey's tone. For a fish, she was a total rag sometimes. It's not Beca's fault this whole mythology is new to her. She didn't have time to go around the entire ocean, traveling the deepest darkest depths to find mermaids and the….Kraken.

God, now that she has discovered already a handful of creatures in this mythical world, she really hopes that last part isn't true.

"He is God of the sea, earthquakes, storms and horses." Chloe chipped in, seeing Beca's confusion still at max. Jesse made the comment, asking if he was God of anything else, like ponds and lakes since he controlled so many other things and in return, he received three equally terrifying glares from each mermaid, including Cynthia. Beca didn't know what the woman was to be quite frank. An octopus? A squid?

"Unlike our father, who was the God of the longest river in Greece-which made him chief to all others, Poseidon, in other words, is a lot stronger."

Beca snorted under her breath, "well, duh. An ocean in comparison to a river is like a mouse compared to a lion….. and okay I'm going to shut up now." She zipped her lips and planted her eyes immediately into her lap, averting all attention away from the, 'I'm about five seconds away from ripping you apart if you don't shut up,' look Aubrey was giving her. She was really testing the waters with the amount of sarcasm dripping from her mouth.

"You said our father is dead?" Chloe asked, her voice wavering and bringing bringing all attention back to the sea witch. Cynthia confirmed this with a small nod, which caused Chloe's eyes to sadden even more. This confirmation did the same with Stacie but as for Aubrey, she froze stone cold, the emerald color in her eyes now replaced with a blinding white.

"She's seeing something!" Stacie announced, scooting closer to wrap her arms around Aubrey's form.

"What is she seeing?" This was a question given by Beca, Jesse and Luke as they watched Aubrey staring off into the distance without flinching a muscle. As a reflex seeing her sister, Chloe reached out to grab Beca's hand, looking for any comfort she could find in the human. Wincing at the pain, Beca held it in.

Beca didn't really know the exact time it took before Aubrey's eyes returned back into a glowing green and her breathing was back to normal. But it had to be no less than a couple minutes. She almost completely forgot that Aubrey had certain powers that allowed her to have visions like this.

"He's not dead," Aubrey said this in between gasps and looked around at her sister's, gripping onto anything she could find. Beca could basically feel the relief spread through Chloe's body at the news as the hand clutching her's eased up on the tightness.

"He's not?" Chloe voice was barely above a whisper.

Aubrey shook her head, "No, I...I couldn't really tell where he was at in the ocean; it was extremely dark and the water wasn't blue like most is. The area looked unfamiliar though."

"Poseidon must've lied about killing Achelous then and instead, just kicked him out of the kingdom," Cynthia spoke up this time, processing everything but still connecting the dots. "Once you three left, I heard nothing but trouble was floating around your home. I just didn't think Poseidon was the mastermind behind all of it. God knows he loathed your father with a burning passion, only wanting the throne for himself."

"But how could he just get…. _kicked out_? He was the strongest mammal down there." Aubrey looked towards Cynthia for this answer. Her words spoke in disbelief. Beca, Jesse and Luke all shared glances, trying their best to keep up on what was going on.

But everything right now was sounding like a foreign language to them.

"He was struggling intensely after you three left, the entire kingdom was going haywire." Cynthia shook her head, lowering her eyes. "Once word got around the sea that he banished his own daughters from their home, his once honored reputation turned to the most hated. Mostly all of the creatures down there believed what Aubrey and Stacie had was something special, nothing to be exiled for."

"Oh my God," Aubrey covered her mouth with a single hand, just under her eyes that were starting to get glassy and red. "We are the reason he's not King anymore," she finalized muffled underneath her palm, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

Stacie wrapped Aubrey in her arms tighter at the sight of her crying, "Sweetie, that's not true-" But wasn't able to finish before Aubrey cut her off with a hiss.

"Yes, Stacie, it is! If I wouldn't have fallen in love with you, we'd still be living back at home _safe_ and not crossing our fingers just to hope that this stupid… _fucking_ potion will work so we don't end up dead!"

Nobody spoke at this, not even Chloe; Beca was even scared to breathe if she was being honest. Aubrey was livid and maybe a little scared-and though the words took a sharp gash to Stacie's heart, she understood that the blonde didn't mean them because she kept her hold around her girlfriend's torso. Technically, it wasn't the mermaids fault that they were cursed.

It was Beca's. If she would've just...fell for Chloe's spell and went through the inevitable that Chloe had in mind, the mermaids wouldn't be fighting for their life. They'd getting back to doing what they've been doing for years, without any problems. And now since she realized this, the sight of them taking it out on each other was too painful to watch. It wasn't their fault.

It was _her's_.

But before Beca could speak up about any of this running through her head, she noticed the the current from the ocean was shallowing to a lower tide, now that it was later in the evening. All three of the mermaids tails were out of the water on sand and she doesn't know how long exactly they've been laying out under the sun, dry.

As she was about to tell the mermaids they should probably get back into the water before they fry under the sun's brutal rays, something was strangely happening to Chloe's fin in particular.

Chloe saw this too and she looked at Beca with a scared glance, not knowing exactly what was going on. Beca didn't really know either and just watching what was happening was freaking her out. "What's going on?" Now as Beca switched her attention to the other mermaids, even Stacie's and Aubrey's tails were doing the exact same thing.

Towards the end where Chloe's fin flailed like a fan, the thin corners of each point were slowly melting off in this sparkling, turquoise blue that dripped into a similar colored puddle above the sand until it vanished away. It was like someone was bringing a flame to a stick of butter and rolling back in like a fruit roll up. Or a popsicle dissolving off its stick on a hot summer's day.

Jesse and Luke shared equal panic, unsure of how to help but looked at Beca for at least something- a lead to stop the situation.

Chloe's eyes were laced with fear once her entire fin was oozing off and making its way down the body of her tail. Beca didn't know what to do and all the thoughts screaming inside her head were telling her that the potion didn't work and that the mermaids were dying- _**Chloe,**_ was dying right in front of her. She scrambled to the end of Chloe's tail and tried to use both hands to stop the coiling track, not having a set plan, so really she didn't understand why she thought this would work. The shimmering blue dripping off of Chloe's tail was extremely cold and thick when Beca's hands came in contact but eventually it cleared. She casted her attention briefly over to the other mermaids who were just as scared that their tails were vanishing in front of them.

 _Fuckfuckfuckfuck_ Beca thought to herself, panicked as she tried to think of something else-anything else to help the mermaids. She was _**not**_ going to let any of them die. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she did. "God…. _Fuck_!" She wasn't able to keep this one in, tears already present down her cheeks.

"It's okay." A gentle, cold hand caressed her shoulder and turning back to see who it was, Cynthia was giving her a reassuring nod. "It's working." Is all she said before crawling back on her tentacles into the ocean to look from afar.

 _What is working?_ Beca was about to ask but then noticed Chloe nor her sisters weren't showing any pain. If their flesh was really rotting like they'd said it would if the potion didn't work, wouldn't there be some excruciating pain involved? Suddenly though as she looked down at length where there once was a fish's tail, the scales were replaced by ten, individual toes, and then split by two legs with two thighs until connecting to one torso.

Chloe's eyes were sparkling when Beca made eye contact with her, the icy blue surrounded by red from tears and the worry washing away. Beca knew this time they were happy tears streaming down the mermaid's face as she stared at the two newly formed legs that replaced each tail.

Once the liquid like blue color from Chloe's tail evaporated off of each leg, the redhead reached down to touch the limbs, making sure what she saw wasn't some trick her mind was playing on her.

Feeling the smoothness of the skin, "it worked!" Chloe beamed a smile and pointed down at her newly formed pair of human legs. Her mouth was gaped and her eyes were stretched wide. "Oh my crabs it worked!" Beca could only chuckle at the excitement before she was submerged in sand after being tackled by a harsh bear hug. "I have legs!"

The shake to her shoulders was hard to register anything to respond with except for strangled grunts. Also, there was the shimmering skin now in an arm's reach of where Beca was laying. "You also have zero clothes on." After a while, she was able to wheeze this out, hiding her own pleasure under her tone at being this close to Chloe's nude, golden body.

At this, Chloe quickly got up and twisted her head to look behind. Beca bit her lip as Chloe struggled to keep her balance and trying not to laugh. The redhead looked a lot like a baby calf that was just born and this was the first time learning to walk.

Pointing to her backside with an ever wider smile, "I have a butt!" Chloe announced, jumping on her heels and gladly showing Beca what exactly it was she was referring to. _Don't look Mitchell! Avert your eyes! AVERT YOUR EYES._ "Isn't it cute?!"

Beca ended up getting a glimpse, being extremely weak for a goddess like Chloe. But there was a blinding smile that focused Beca's eyes-which was a better alternative than other places she could have been looking at on Chloe's body.

With a few wiggles here and there, Beca had to tear her gaze immediately because the heat rising up through her neck was almost unbearable. And though Chloe's butt was very, _**very**_ cute, Beca couldn't look anymore without feeling dirty. Chloe, obviously, had not a shame in the world and continued to flaunt her new skin for everyone on shore.

Aubrey and Stacie also did the same, joining Chloe's excitement as they each took turns admiring each other's legs. As the three did this, bouncing around with squeals, Beca caught Luke and Jesse watching the girls in awe, both of their faces resembling a teenage boy's who just saw his first naked girl.

Finding the closest hard object she could find, she tossed it over at her friends to break their focus. "Get your heads out of the gutters!" She warned sternly, not enjoying Chloe's body being watched as entertainment for two, horny boys who think with their penis. Chloe was captivating yes, but not a piece of meat. Unfazed by the rocks, they shook Beca off with a wave to the hand, eyes remaining on the girls jumping in front.

"Oh my goodness you're _tall_ ," Aubrey cooed as she examined Stacie's legs with a smirk. They indeed ran for miles; Beca noted from where she was at, being able to get a good look. Unlike herself, turned out Stacie was not only blessed with the boobs but also, the freakishly long legs.

Not that Beca was looking or anything…because she wasn't…. _damn_.

"Yeah?" Stacie tossed Aubrey a wink and took the blonde under her arms. "You like?" Only Aubrey could swoon hearing this, and wrapped her arms around Stacie's waist, modeling their skin together before rising up to her tippy toes and stealing a kiss.

It was a nice change in aroma seeing the mermaids so happy about the potion working- less hostel that's for sure. Aubrey and Stacie were the cutest together and knew each other's love was indescribable. Seeing them at their worst was awful and something Beca never wants to see again.

Chloe bounced back into Beca's lap, still unclothed, bare, and as naked as a jaybird, straddling Beca's thighs for a full view show. Chloe's legs weren't as long as Stacie's-maybe a little longer than Beca's, a little shorter than Aubrey's. They were extremely toned though, and while Beca expected same paleness over her skin, the two new legs were quite the opposite, with their golden tan tint. She also had a shimmering blue over her toenails, the same color that her tail once was-which was kind of neat. Aubrey's and Stacie's feet showed the same thing.

Maybe Chloe wasn't blessed with Stacie's height but for one, she was blessed with a lot of other things.

"Look at them, Becs!" Chloe seemed to totally be ignoring the fact that she was naked, in an arm's reach of Beca and more focused about the legs but how truely happy she was made Beca forget about all those things.

"They are great, Chlo." Beca complemented genuinely and Chloe's smile only doubled in size. She searched for somewhere to place her hands, finally ending up with a two fist full of sand as Chloe was non intentionally rocking her body over her stomach to reach for her feet from behind. This was just pure torture. Truthfully, Beca wanted to share the hype and ogle at Chloe's (insanely sexy) body; she can't think of anything better to do.

But, she has respect, dammit.

 _Lord, if you're up there, help me._ Beca looked anywhere but her lap that sat a giddy, nude redhead, more than eager to get away from these inappropriate thoughts.

Jesse being the asshole that he really is and only adding more to Beca's flustered state, called out a few cat whistles that were followed by Luke secretly dry humping the air behind Chloe to go unnoticed. Beca covered her eyes, knowing damn well she was blushing but luckily, Chloe was too focused on her legs that she didn't see anything else going on around her.

Eventually, she gave mercy on Beca and sat up to stand, reaching out a hand to pick Beca up, as well.

"Cynthia, thank you." Everyone directed their attention to the sea witch who was out in the waters, enjoying the three of them bounce around like children with a pleased smile on her face. "Without you, who knows where we'd be right now."

"We are family, remember?" Cynthia shrugged, smirking. "But you guys aren't in the clear yet. Poseidon is still after you guys. Lurkers are already on their way."

"Can't we just get away from water and up to the jungle part of this island?" Jesse suggested, gesturing up top where dry land was.

"Afraid not. Lurkers are creepy little things." Aubrey scowled her face in disgust, answering the boy's question. Though it was a good idea, it would be pointless. "They're half human, half crab, so they'd be able to survive on land."

The hotness in Beca's body began to fade and soon her mind was focused on a more important situation rather than three, super hot girls being butt naked right in front of her to daze at. This situation was big; life or death even, with how the mermaids talked about Poseidon. And now, with the added "lurkers" who knew what could happen to them.

It wasn't no longer the mermaids being in trouble.

It was all of them.

"No, what Jesse is saying is right." Jesse, as well as the others, seemed shocked that Cynthia agreed to his idea. But clearly, she'd be the best candidate to know what to do. "You guys obviously can't stay here. Now with Poseidon in charge, Demeter finding about the curse and an army of Lurkers coming your way, it's a matter of hours before this land is destroyed."

Everyone nodded their heads, listening. The thought of the mermaid's home being destroyed was obviously seen in the three but they knew staying here would be unsafe. Where would they go? It's not like Chloe and her sisters had the map of the jungle and knew the place by heart. Up there was new territory for them and same with Beca, Jesse and Luke. They'd pretty much be walking blind with six giant X's for the lurkers to hunt.

"Now that you guys are able to survive on land, the best thing I would do is get the Hell off the island before they find you," Cynthia's voice shook, imagining the possibilities of outcomes that could end with them.

"What about our father?" Aubrey questioned concerned. It seemed like majority of them forgot about the vision she saw earlier where her dad was still alive and somewhere in the ocean but why did she care?

"As much ask if love to tell give you an answer, your dad is somewhere that I'm not familiar with. For all we know he could be across the country and by the time he hears everything that's going on, you guys could already be in trouble. I don't think he'd be much help."

" _If_ he'd help us." Stacie chipped in her two sense but with an eye roll. "This is the man who kicked out his own daughters because they loved each other. I honestly doubt he'd help us now when we are the most wanted in the sea."

"That's not true." Chloe shook her head, her once beaming smile now long gone and replaced with a small frown. Stacie was bitter towards their father and as far as Beca could tell by body language, so was Aubrey. But she gets it. Their relationship was basically a sin as it was for being gay in the real world but for mermaids, they were raised to marry mermans, not other mermaids.

"I don't know what to tell you girls about your father. But you all need to leave before things get worse." Cynthia warned, pointing up towards the other end of the island where instead of covered by water, trees surrounded the rocks and cliffs.

 _Worse?_ This caught Beca's attention again. Great. Now there was something _worse_ that could be after them. What could be worse than half crab, half human soldiers chasing after them, and the strongest God of the ocean?

"Cthulhu." All the mermaids said in unison, fear lacing the words as it came out. A moment of silence, Cynthia didn't give them a verbal response but just weakly nodded her head.

"What the _fuck_ is that?" Beca panicked, eyes wide and her heart rate starting to speed up. Whatever it was it was, the overall name of the thing was terrifying and she can only guess that the thing behind it is even ten times scarier.

"I've read about that!" Jesse stole the question, relieved that the name actually sounded familiar. "It's one of the greatest and oldest of the sea monster legends. It's part octopus, part human and part dragon." _Jesus Christ_ Beca gulped at the description. "It's described as hundreds of meters tall but for humans, it's never been confirmed as it's still a myth."

"Oh the height is right." Aubrey snorted. "Cthulhu might even be bigger than that. My sisters and I have never seen it up close; it was imprisoned while we were still back at home." Well shit. Obviously the _thing_ was locked up for a reason and that reason being he was a giant, destructive beast that could destroy anything it wanted if gotten in the way.

Scoffing a few huffs, Beca paced back and forth along the sand, one hand running through her hair, the other gripping at her hip above her black swim bottoms. Things were finally starting to hit her at how endangered they all were. "How are we supposed to survive out here?! We have zero weapons, barely surviving off of food and now, a giant fucking monster is going to be let loose to swallow us whole! I'm not _fit_ to survive in a tropical forest!" It's about time her levels of panic about the entire situation made an appearance.

They were doomed. All of them were fucking _doomed_.

"Stacie, you think you still have your powers?" Cynthia asked casually, ignoring Beca's question as a whole. Also, the dramatics that came with it. Stacie shrugged her shoulders, unsure if she had them still or not,l but still, a little taken back at the random question. Cynthia bobbed her head, taking this in. "Use them on Beca." She demanded with a shrug.

 _Um, what?_ This stopped Beca right where she was at, pacing along the shore-but didn't have enough time to ask if she heard Cynthia correctly before a piercing pain in her gut plummeted her to the sand. Like before, her veins felt like they were on fire, her insides dissolving away, and she had no strength to get up.

"Stacie, stop!" Next thing Beca knew was she was in Chloe's arms, pressed up against her warm skin and still recovering for the excruciating few seconds of pain she just encountered. Stacie's eyes were her usual blinding white and the longer Chloe held onto her, she could start to see her fangs extracting with rage.

Seeing this, all of the mermaids still had their powers, minus the tails.

"Just like I thought," Cynthia tapped her fingers against her chin, pleased to see that Stacie still had their powers but dismissing the groans of pain from a huddled up brunette in the arms of a very angry redhead. "These three are your guys' weapons." She announced, pointing to Chloe, Stacie and Aubrey who only furrowed their brows confused. "The potion I created was a lighter dose, one that wasn't strong enough to cure you of _all_ your siren capabilities."

Chloe calmed down after a while, her teeth returning to normal and Beca was able to catch all the strength in her body back to move properly. Glancing up, Stacie seemed genuinely sorry for hurting Beca by the look in her eyes, guilty that it was Beca who experienced the power. Couldn't Cynthia of asked like….Chloe to test her powers? It would've been a Hell of a lot less painful that's for sure.

"So, we have all our powers still?" Aubrey asked, still closely glued to Stacie's side with her arms hooked around the taller girl's torso.

"Yes and that will help you guys if faced any threats. The longer you wait here, the closer the lurkers are to finding you. They already destroyed my home looking for me, I'd hate if the same happened to you. The best thing would be leaving at sunrise."

"We could find help.." Chloe trialed off, realizing that if walking the island, not knowing how far it ran could run them into someone else. Though her hopes weren't set high, the farther they got away from the ocean, the less likely it would be for Poseidon to find them.

"As far as I know, this island-your home is enormous. There is miles of land to cover and a higher chance of making it far enough that you'll be bounced back on the map."

"What about you?" Aubrey asked genuinely curious. "Where are you going to go?"

"Well for a start, I'm going to take a trip back to your kingdom to figure out what exactly is going on. Maybe adventure out, rebuild a new home for myself." Cynthia listed with a smile. "I've always wanted to live in the deeps seas of Italy."

"It beautiful there." Chloe commented, her shining smile back to flaunt. Beca missed that thing. Aubrey and Stacie both agreed with Chloe.

The atmosphere was thinning around them, The air less tensed about what to do since now they had a plan to leave the beach tomorrow morning. And though they all were still in danger, the slim chance they'd be rescued, or running into civilization outweighed their doubts.

Cynthia started sinking back into the ocean, getting farther and farther away from the group. "Promise us something?" Chloe called out before Cynthia made it too deep, yielding her from going any farther.

Cynthia at first was hesitant at this question from Chloe. But soon she nodded her head to whatever it was she was promising to.

Looking for approval from her sisters, "you'll at least find our father."

* * *

"Did it hurt?" Beca's hand was resting on the inside part of Chloe's leg, just above her knee as they sat onshore watching the sunset cast over the ocean. There was a slight breeze around them that was flowing Chloe's hair and now that it had the chances to dry, Beca noted that the red was a tad bit curly. It almost looked crimped in a way. Nonetheless Chloe still looked gorgeous.

All of them searched around and managed to find some pieces of clothing scattered in the cave, left items from shipwrecks and well….other reasons. Chloe found a dark blue bathing suit that she settled on, white swim shorts and a loose black t shirt that hung off her shoulders in case the weather got cooler. So far though, it was still pretty hot and didn't feel the need to wear it.

Not that Beca minded.

Stacie and Aubrey found something similar to wear but instead, the bikinis were different colors; Stacie's was a dark violet and Aubrey's was yellow with white pinstripes. Also, Aubrey wore a white, half cut sarong to match the top.

Cynthia departed not too long ago, hoping to resolve some of the tension going on back in the kingdom before it gets too out of hand. She made a promise to the mermaids and that was to find their father. Even though she herself wasn't to fond of the ex King, she kept her promises and loved the mermaids like her own sisters. Finding him was still up in the air but she'd try her hardest if it meant the mermaids would be happy.

"Did what hurt?" Chloe hummed, switching her attention from the sky to Beca who was watching her intently.

That moment, Beca's heart nearly stopped at the sight. _God_ , Chloe is beautiful- that's a no brainier. Anyone would say that if running into the girl on the street and getting a look for themselves. But now, with the sunset's glow adding to the blue in her eyes and making her skin shimmer under the light, words don't even come in close to describing how alluring Chloe truly is.

Chloe glanced down at where Beca's fingers were delicately drumming across the skin on the inner part of her thigh. "Losing your tail." Beca said after snapping herself back from being wheeled in at Chloe's beauty. "It looked like it hurt."

"No it didn't actually." Chloe shrugged with a smile. "It probably looked like I was in pain because of the crying and the look on my face but honestly, it wasn't bad. The feeling was weird though. It was like…..tingling. Like if your arm fell asleep or something."

Beca scrunched her face, imagining how it felt. She hated when her foot, or arm would fall asleep after neglecting it for so long. The feeling was almost like tiny little prickles against the area. Uncomfortable. "Are you going to miss it?" Chloe lowered her eyes, pursing her lips; Beca knowing she hit a soft spot. She can't even imagine how Chloe felt after losing something that meant so much to her. After living her entire life with it, hundreds of years, the absence must be hard to deal with.

"Maybe every now and then I will." Chloe said after a couple seconds of silence. "It was definitely a…. _part_ of me and it's hard to not look down and see it but, I've lived so many years as a mermaid. It's time I've spent the rest with something new."

Chloe wiggled her toes, still fascinated by the tiny little things and it made Beca laugh. She leaned her head on Beca's shoulder when she was finished poking around with her toes and enjoyed the peaceful showtime ocean was playing.

They sat comfortably for a while, Chloe's head rested against Beca's shoulder with her fingers still brushing the inner part of Chloe's thigh. It was a nice change for one, Beca registered at the position. It seemed like lately they have just been experiencing problem after problem and not able to just sit back and relax. Be stress free for once in the past few days. Of course, once morning came around, they'd be back to scrambling for their lives.

But until then, Beca wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet with an amazing girl by her side.

As they watched the sun descended lower, listening to the waves crash into the rocks, whistle through the leaves and water flowing against the sand, Beca heard a deep growl erupt from Chloe's stomach. Chloe peeled her head away from Beca's shoulder shocked at what she just heard and Beca laughed when she knew exactly what the noise meant. She offered a hand to pull Chloe up and once they were both standing, they started to walk.

"Let's get you something to eat."

Both of them walked along the shore; Beca looking around for this so called fruit Jesse and Luke were talking about the farther they went up on land. She also tried to not show the amount of flutters that were going on inside her stomach when Chloe causally connected their hands together to swing against their legs as she studied all the nature she wasn't able to as a mermaid.

It was adorable whenever Beca stole a glimpse. Chloe looked like a little kid on Christmas morning, tearing open their presents and finding everything they asked for. Instead of gifts though, it was a new shell, or a rock that she was unfamiliar with when stumbling upon.

Again, Chloe was adorable. How many times has Beca already said that? Probably a lot. She doesn't even bother to keep track since chances are she'll end up saying it later on. Just stating the facts, you know?

Continuing to walk in comfortable silence, keeping the spark contained whenever Chloe would brush her thumb against the back of her hand, or casually lean her head in briefly to rest on top of her shoulder, she gave Chloe a boost up on a nearby rock that lead to a palm tree where possible fruit could be growing. She hummed when examining the trees and being right, she found a couple of coconuts scattered along the soil that must've fallen from above where a group of them were growing.

Taking a good look at the ones up top, their color around the shell was still an apple green, unlike some of the ones that had fallen which were a chocolate brown. These must be the ripe ones out of the group-which in other words means delicious.

"What in the world is that?" Chloe eyes stretched wide when Beca bent down to pick up this fairly large brown sphere, not ever seeing anything like it before.

Shaking the coconut up to her ear, Beca listened for any present sounds of liquid coming from inside, and found none. The maturity of this one might be a little more difficult to eat but nonetheless still edible. "A coconut." Beca answered, twisting the fruit around in her hands for a hole, or dent to possibly break it open. "Here." Handing over the fruit, she was startled and almost dropped the thing when Chloe instantly pulled her hands back in disgust with a high pitched squeal when her fingers connected with the shell.

"Why is there hair on it?!" Beca laughed when she tried to have Chloe touch it again and the girl only backed away like the coconut was a bomb.

"It's not hair," Beca said in between laughs, rubbing her fingers across the fuzz. "It's called coir."

Chloe eased up at the name and her face returned back to neutral and no longer disturbed by what she just touched. "Whatever it is, why is it on a fruit? You can't expect me to eat that thing, Beca."

"Coconuts have coir so they are salt water resistant. Typically, palm trees grow around salty oceans so this 'fuzz' is what keeps the meat inside protected." Beca explained as Chloe listened. With another try, she handed over the fruit for Chloe to hold and smiled when Chloe's body lit up at the sensation. She was also relieved that the girl took the thing inside of flailing it away. "You sure you don't want to eat it? The inside is super yummy." Scavenging the ground, she found a greener looking coconut with liquid in the inside as she shook it to next to her ear.

Beca switched coconuts with Chloe while the mermaid looked at the new green one placed in her hands the same way. "You crack them open and there is usually coconut water on the inside and white meat to eat raw."

Which reminds Beca, how the Hell was she going to break this thing open? "You wouldn't happen to have super strength would you?" Beca joked, searching for a nearby by rock to smash the fruit against. As she was doing this, she wasn't fully expecting Chloe's teeth to start transforming into fangs before ripping a good chunk out of the fruit in the matter of seconds and spitting it into the ground. Well, looks like she doesn't have to worry about cracking it open to make a hole. "Or you could do that." She was actually surprised at the strength Chloe's jaw was able to produce, breaking through the husk plus the coconut inside-which usually needed a knife but for her, she breezed right by.

Beca chuckled when Chloe's teeth returned back to their human form and she was holding a half eaten coconut in her hands. See? Something like that should've scared Beca shitless, seeing this innocent looking girl hulk out and take a bite out of something so hard like she was eating a marshmallow. But truth is, it didn't.

And should she be concerned if not only did the sight not scare her but also, turned her on a bit?

Yeah, she might have a problem.

Licking her lips, Chloe's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets when she got a taste of the liquid layering her mouth. "Oh wow this is good!" She lifted up the shell to her mouth and drank the coconut water inside.

"Told yah." Beca started picking up some more coconuts along the soil to bring back down the beach for everyone to eat. She was excited to see how the other two mermaids would react to eating something new for the very first time. "Wait until you try a pineapple." Chloe raised her eyebrows to her hairline at the name. "Has to be my favorite fruit."

"What is this white stuff? You can't tell me I only get to drink the thing."

Beca looked over to see what Chloe was poking around at. "Oh, that's coconut meat. Here-" She reached out and tore a piece out from the middle-luckily the inside was soft enough to scoop out- and dropped the piece of coconut in Chloe's mouth when she opened.

Immediately, Chloe's eyes rolled to the back of her head and killed her head back, savoring the taste. It was a sweet, nutty taste when Beca licked her fingers, bringing back all the memories when Jesse and her would go out to the beach and pick up coconuts to cook back at home. Coconuts had tons of potassium, as well as sodium and electrolytes, which would come in handy if they planned on adventuring through this island for who knows how long. At least now they'd stay hydrated.

Chloe helped carry some coconuts with her free arm that wasn't holding the already cracked open shell and once both of them got enough for their friend back on shore, they started walking back.

"Now that you guys will be joining the human world, what do you plan on doing with your life?" Beca asked suddenly curious.

"We just got our legs, Beca," Chloe giggled, shaking her head at the 'duh' Beca responded with. "I doubt any of us have thought about our futures."

"Since you guys have amazing voices, you can work around the music industry. When I'm not out surfing, I make my own mixes that hopefully one day will be noticed by some big time music label. We could totally collab on something for demos…..or better yet!" Suddenly, a lightbulb flashed inside Beca's head. "You guys could be like….the next Spice Girls or something! Fifth Harmony or Little Mix!"

Chloe was laughing at the way Beca's entire five foot body lit up at the suggestion but she had no idea what Beca was comparing her and her sisters to. "Beca, I don't know who any of those names are."

"Just some of the most famous girl groups." Beca shook this off though. Again, it was stupid to be referencing certain things to a mermaid who has lived her entire existence in the water. "Too many boy bands around nowadays. I think you three would be a hit. Not only are you insanely gorgeous but also, have raw, melodic voices that can swoon anybody if listening."

"As much as the idea seems great, I honestly haven't had much time to think about what I want to do when we experience the real, human world." Beca watched, studying how Chloe was looking off into the distance. "Stacie is insanely smart; same with Aubrey but her personality is different. She is authoritative and bossy. Is there anything in particular where my sisters could fit in?"

Beca bounced some ideas back a forth. "Stacie would be pretty neat as some mad scientist, runway model and Aubrey could be a mean Dean somewhere at a university that nobody likes." Beca blocked the shove she got at saying this but was happy to get a chuckle from Chloe. Whether she likes it or not, Aubrey can be a little controlling.

And by a little, she definitely mean a lot.

An unholy amount.

"I'm sure we will find something for you guys that each of you want to do when the time comes."

"That is _if_ the time comes." Chloe mumbled this, her voice lower than normal but Beca heard it loud and clear.

Her smile instantly dropped into a frowned and she hooked her foot around Chloe's legs since her hands were occupied by the group of coconuts they were hoarding. "Hey," she stopped, signaling Chloe to do the same where her foot caught Chloe's ankle. "Let's not think negative."

"I'm not thinking negative, Beca. I'm thinking realistic. I don't want to set my hopes up too high just for them to come crashing down." Without connecting her eyes with Beca's, she spoke into the sand, head smuggled in her chest.

Understandable. If Beca was being honest herself on the side, she was scared whether they'd make it back to Santa Cruz or not. She didn't like to let it show of course, thinking it'd be weak to show how she really felt but the possibilities were still there. Nagging in the back of her head.

"Let's talk about something else?" Beca offered her a smile though it was fake. She hoped it would at least budge by Chloe, lightening the mood. Before this whole topic came around, she was enjoying the time spent with the redhead. She didn't want to ruin the moment by talking about something so serious.

When the time came, they'd talk about it then. But for now, she wanted to keep the doubts at a minimum.

Brushing this off, Chloe kept walking with Beca in tow. About a couple minutes of silence, she spoke up again. "What are we?"

Beca was trying hard not to trip on something as they walked, which most of her focus was set on. But even hearing this took her off guard. "What do you mean?"

"What are we?" Chloe repeated with zero clarification, like Beca thought she was going to do. "Like are we friends, acquaintances, buddies or pals? Or are we like Stacie and Aubrey?"

"Girlfriends?" Beca finished, the word by itself taking a toll on her insides. She could feel her stomach coiling at the label and especially at the chance to be able to call Chloe her girlfriend, _whew_.

"Yeah!" Chloe chirped at the help, bringing back her megawatt smile. "I mean, I've only known you for a couple days, four to be exact and technically the first day I tried to kill you so," Chloe trailed, her smile getting smaller as the memories came back to her.

"I mean, true. But what better way to break the ice than a good ol' scare right?" Seeing the change in behavior, Beca was quick to retort with a joke, easing the conversation up a bit. "Sure saved me from _a lot_ of awkward shit I tend to say and do when talking to a pretty girl." Beca caught the blush in Chloe's cheeks, smiling proudly to herself to be able to be the one behind it.

"Anyways, what I'm trying to say is I like you a lot and we kissed…. _twice_ and both times were amazing. You were amazing-that is at kissing. Well, I think? You were the first person I kissed so I don't really know what a good kisser _is-_ "

"Oh-kayy." Beca intervened Chloe's mess of a ramble to save the further bruising to her precious ego from going anymore. She was a good kisser. A great one in fact.

Or at least she hopes. _Oh no._ Was she a bad kisser?

"What do humans call this- _whatever_ we are doing right now?" Chloe continued, breaking Beca out of her thoughts.

"Dating. To be short" Beca shrugged, all of a sudden nervous once she processed what she just said. Clearing her throat, "I mean, if you want or….whatever."

"Is that whatever you asking me to be your girlfriend?" Chloe teased, amusement laced in her eyes as she was witnessing the level of fluster Beca was in.

Shrugging, "uh, yeah. I mean, I saw you naked so.." Beca winked and Chloe rolled her eyes playfully, nudging her shoulder into Beca's gently, cautious of the coconuts. "What do you say?" This was probably the most nervous Beca has ever been before, the anxiety eating at her stomach like acid as she waited for the answer.

"I'd want nothing more than to be your girlfriend." Chloe smiled the response, not even a second later. For Beca, she was able to keep the smile at a reasonable length and not the face splitting grin that she wanted to split. "And to seal the deal…" Chloe stopped in her tracks, Turning around to place a their, soft kiss over Beca's lips that seemed to be only getting better and better as they came. Pulling away, she giggled at Beca's dumbfounded expression before she started to walk again.

"Cool." Was all Beca could muster up but on the inside, she was exploding with happiness. Honestly, it was very uncharacteristic to be feeling this way about Chloe. So giddy and full of emotions. What is wrong with her?

"I promise to be the best girlfriend ever and I'll have you know, mermaids never break their promises." Chloe said before the others on beach were seen huddle by a fire set up, chatting about something. Jesse was going on about something passionate towards the mermaids- God only knows what- but Beca was surprised to see the both of them actually listening intently.

"Beca, my girlfriend?" Chloe dangled the words, biting her lip in deep thought and savoring how they sounded, or how they felt coming out. "I like the sound of that."

And then she was gone, jogging up to her sisters, exclaiming something about tasting these big, brown balls of pure heaven that made Beca cringe as it could be interpreted as something completely different.

Watching Chloe run away, bouncing with an unholy amount of energy when she made it and dropped the coconuts in front of her sisters, Beca released a swooning sigh at the sight.

 _Girlfriend_.

Yeah, she liked the sound of that too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who liked the coconut facts?! Ha I don't even know if they're right TBH. I tried a coconut once and it smelt like alcohol and tasted like death. But that's what Google told me :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, lovelies. Pretty intense chapter to write.  
> Things are starting to kick in.  
> Hit me up my friends on tumbla! omacagee  
> Warnings: Violence, mention of blood  
> (I DO NOT OWN PITCH PERFECT)

Turns out, the gang got lucky with the batch of coconuts Beca picked out as they were perfectly ripped and tasted delicious. As expected, Chloe referred to these big brown balls filled with pure heaven as her new favorite thing to eat to which Beca took full credit for. Stacie and Aubrey had to also agreed to this as they devoured all the coconut meat in the matter of seconds.

Aubrey of course had to inspect the damn fruit for what felt like hours before _actually_ eating it; saying something along the lines that it doesn't look safe or whatever.

Still, Beca kept her amusement to herself under a smug smile once Aubrey's eyes morphed when she took a drink of the so called "poisonous" fruit and her eyes stretched wide as if she saw Jesus for the first time.

Nighttime on shore had to be Beca's favorite. The weather was nice; not too cold but there was a light enough breeze after a day surrounded by scorching heat that cooled her skin perfectly. The sand had a sparkle to it too. Maybe the moon's reflection was bouncing off it, similar to how it made the ocean shine above its darkened, cloudless color.

Another favorite thing Beca loved about nighttime on shore had to be the realization that the mermaids' eyes still had their abnormal glow to them. Chloe's big blue eyes shined brightly through the darkness and often, Beca found herself falling into those two big black holes and having quite the hard time finding her way out.

She doesn't know how she is going to cover up the three mermaids eyes once they make it back to Santa Cruz. It's not everyday humans encounter girl who may look the exact same but has a glow to their eyes that's similar to a cat's.

Maybe she could muster up a lie about glow in the dark contacts that are extremely rare and hard to find. Hopefully people are gullible enough to believe that or she really doesn't know how she was going to explain it.

But for now though, Beca took in that mesmerizing glow to Chloe's eyes as she is entranced by a story Luke is telling them about the first time Sarah and him went scuba diving in the Bahamas and swam with tiger sharks.

They are all sitting around a fire Jesse and Luke built and Chloe provided the heat to create a warm fire. Beca was leaning against the cave's rocks while Chloe fits perfectly in between her legs. Aubrey and Stacie are snuggled right beside and parallel from the two couples are Jesse and Luke who were frying up some fish they caught earlier tonight.

"How in the world did you guys not lose your heads?" Chloe gasped at hearing this, covering her mouth with a hand. "With experience, they aren't the most friendly in the ocean as their best friends are hammer heads, who are even more unpleasant. I can't even imagine how they would act around humans without some kind of fuss."

Beca snickered at the worry in Chloe's tone as she messed around with the mermaid's fingers that happened to be threaded through her own. It was neat to hear all about the ocean from a different perspective rather than the National Geographic channel.

"I mean, we didn't _actually_ get to swim with them," Luke corrected when he saw the wide in Chloe's eyes. "Boat crew dunked us in a cage and they swam around us. Sarah wouldn't even go in the ocean if there wasn't a cage provided." He chuckled, shaking his head at the memory.

Beca was way on Sarah's side, even though she personally wouldn't go into the water _if_ there was a cage provided. Maybe now with the experience of being up close and personal to a great white shark (thanks to Chloe) but still, they're predators of the ocean and she's chancing her life just being around them, cage or not.

"Is Sarah your girlfriend?" Stacie asked with a curious smile.

"Yeah she is. Been the love of my life for a year now." Unable to keep his emotions at bay, Luke cheeked a blushing grin and Chloe was the first and loudest to "awe" at seeing this.

"What does she look like?" Chloe encouraged Luke to continue with joy, totally wrapped up in the sappiness of the conversation. Usually, Beca would be annoyed and immediately disinterested in the love story of how her best friend and his girlfriend met after hearing the story religiously. But the sparkle in Chloe's eyes are almost too much to handle and she just can't seem to look away.

Luke blew out a mouthful of air. " _Gesh_ , where do I even start? She's absolutely jaw dropping, with her long blonde hair and big green eyes. Those two things are my kryptonite that's for sure."

"Are you sure you aren't describing Aubrey?" Beca used her voice to tease and the look that washed over Stacie's features at the mention of her girlfriend was way too good to miss. If a look could kill, Luke would be six feet under.

Honestly, maybe she shouldn't be testing Stacie's rage as she is fully aware of the girl's power and knows by experience it's not something to mess around with.

Luke hissed a "shut up" under his breath at Beca and assured to Stacie that he wasn't describing Aubrey. At that clarification, the mermaid's tension eased. He went off on more about Sarah; where and how they met and all the great qualities about the girl. As he continued to gush about his girlfriend though, his entire body language began to droop and his eyes lost their gleam.

Beca knew how hard it was talking about Sarah after not seeing her since they left a couple days back. Without any form of communication, Beca knows for a fact Sarah is worried sick. She actually wouldn't be surprised if a search team are out looking for her Jesse and Luke as they speak. Although, chances are they wouldn't be found since Chloe and her sister's island is not only hidden on the map but also, one big myth to of it actually exists.

That's why they needed to leave and find their way back home.

Chloe, being the big ball of sunshine that she truly is, lightens the mood as she catches the behavioral change in Luke's posture and shifted the questions to Jesse, asking, "do you love someone?"

Hearing this, Beca was the first to burst out laughing. "Jesse? _Loving_ someone?" she asked as Chloe twisted her face around, thinking that maybe she was directing the question to someone else and not her doofus step brother. "He has to get a girlfriend first before he can think about love."

Prepared for the clump of muddy sand to come flying towards her face, Beca blocked the shot just in time, snickering at how defensive Jesse got about his love life. She was allowed to do things like this and tease her brother. It's practically her duty to embarrass him; not only because she's older but come on, it's fucking hilarious.

"Don't be mean, Becs," Chloe pouted with a jutted lip and Beca being embarrassingly weak against those puppy dog eyes-really, her eyes in general- she apologized to Jesse and slumped her shoulders.

Puffing out his chest, he remarked something under his breath about Beca being whipped that caused Luke to snort out a laugh, Beca quickly sent him a death look that was enough to shut him up.

Kinda.

"I might not have a girlfriend, _yet,_ but at least I'm not a virgin."

An echo of "oh's" came out from Luke while all three mermaids sat with puzzled glances towards each other. Beca gritted her teeth; her patience with her brother was running thin, almost to the point where she was thinking about drowning him in the ocean.

"Fuck you, Jesse," Beca spat back, only irritation dripping from the words.

"What's a virgin?" Chloe was the one to ask out of the three mermaids, innocent and pure as ever. "And why is it such a big deal that is basically making your blood boil?" Beca quirked her eyebrows at this when Chloe cocked her head to face the brunette. She forgot about the whole 'powers' situation that the mermaids, especially Chloe, are gifted with. In a way, she felt it too; the connection between her and Chloe.

It was fucking weird by the way.

Still shocked that neither of the mermaids knew what the term was, Beca took a deep breath before answering the question. No matter how much she hated talking about it, not that she is embarrassed or anything, but mostly because it's nobody's damn business, Chloe seemed truly curious. "You're considered a virgin from birth until you…. _partake_ in sexual activity-which is between to animate beings." Finishing this explanation with her cheeks on fire since she hated talking about sex in any fashion, she expected Chloe and her sisters to understand what she meant.

Or at least get a ballpark idea about the term.

What she received though was three blank stares, probably even more confused than they already were and all she could do was hide the groan in frustration as she tilted her head up to the sky.

" _Okay Webster's dictionary,"_ Jesse cackled, gripping at his stomach and ignoring the glares radiating from Beca. "They're mermaids, not college students."

Patience dissolved and long gone, Beca snapped back, "why the Hell do I have to be Dr. Phil right now? If you're so smart and smooth with your words, why don't _you_ explain to them what sex is!"

"Because I love to see you get so flustered when talking about sex! Your face is basically fire engine red!" Jesse continued to laugh, followed quickly by Luke and Beca's positive that her face got even redder by the warmth rising to her cheeks.

"What's sex?" Despite the feud between the siblings, Chloe popped out another question. Stacie and Aubrey sat there silent, using Chloe for the voice for their mutual questions and highly amused by the banter. All they needed was a bowl of popcorn to truly enjoy the show.

Beca slapped a hand to her face. _God_ , Chloe was being so fucking cute all clueless and all but honestly, the mermaid was literally killing her. She wouldn't be surprised if she died on the spot from embarrassment.

"Yeah Bec. What _is_ sex? Please enlighten us." Of course Jesse felt the need to egg this on. What Beca wanted to do was cuss her brother out for putting her on the spot. Knowing Chloe was listening and watching her intently for an answer, she flooded a series of vulgar insults to her brother-mentally-before taking another deep breath, eyes meeting Chloe's patient glowing blues.

"Sex is between two people-"

"Not all the time, Becky," Luke cut her off with a smug smile and she wanted nothing more but to smack his charm right off his face.

Rolling her eyes, she continued, "Okay, _most_ of the time," and then she corrected her previous statement, "sex is performed between two people, usually when they love each other."

"Oh!" Chloe lit up with a beaming grin. "So you and I had sex!" she shouted and at first, Beca thought the redhead was joking. But the look of seriousness was more than present, informing her that Chloe was everything but joking.

So clueless, yet oh so beautiful.

Jesse and Luke snorted a laugh, lowering their eyes away from Beca's.

"Not quite.." Beca said slowly through an uneasy chuckle. If it is even possible anymore, she thinks her face got even hotter and redder. Chloe's smile quickly sagged into a frown, right back into that state of confusion. "Sex is…. _physical._ What we have is emotional, so far. Eventually, we _could_ have sex...you know….in the future or like whatever. Hopefully we do but like...I'm not pressuring you or anything!" Beca added with wide eyes and by this, Chloe curved up another bright smile.

"Stop rambling, shorty! What's this sex thing?" Clearly impatient, Stacie finally chimed in her voice.

Beca rolled her eyes when being pushed to continue. "Again, sex happens most of the time between two people who love each other.." There was a pregnant pause while Beca tried her hardest to think of the proper words to explain this next part. She even considered using hand motions to help explain. "You see, with the human anatomy, females have vaginas and males have penises. You guys now have…. _vaginas._ " She gulped down the forming knot in her throat as she wished literally _anything_ would happen so she could stop this painful explanation.

Maybe a giant wave, or Jesse choking on a piece of his fish.

" _This_?" Chloe pointed a finger down to the space between her legs and Beca closed her eyes when feeling the embarrassment eating her alive. She nodded her head though, answering Chloe's one of a million questions. "What's a penis then?"

_Oh my god._

Jesse and Luke have hit their limit and at the question, rolled into the sand laughing at Beca's dumbfounded stare without any help from either of them. She kept on forgetting that Chloe and her sisters had a lower anatomy of a fish's and not the parts that humans have.

"I uh...ummmmm…..it's a male's reproductive organ." Beca only answered this because Chloe was looking at her sideways and looked honestly like a lost puppy dog. Who would ignore that precious little look? Definitely someone heartless and although Beca kept her feelings locked in a box deep inside her body before she met Chloe, even she couldn't ignore the confusion washing over the mermaid's face.

"Think of it kinda like a tail but smaller, way smaller if you're talking about these guys." Beca gestured her head over to Jesse and Luke, earning multiple offended scoffs at the jab towards their manhood. Hopefully that will get them to shut up.

"You said reproductive right?" Stacie asked all of a sudden and Beca nodded her head. "So that's how humans make babies?"

Okay, so these mermaids know the procedure of the reproductive system and what its function is in the body for humans, but not what a penis is? _Good gracious._

"How though?" Not too much of a shock now that Chloe dropped yet another question.

This wasn't how Beca planned the night going.

She wasn't writing up lesson plans, or prepping herself for the birds and the bees talk to three, hundred and twenty year old mermaids like she is giving the talk to her kid. She planned on having peaceful, fire friendly conversations and hanging out with everyone before they left early tomorrow morning.

Not giving the sex speech.

Someone, _anyone,_ please dig her hole to die in right now.

Deciding that Chloe wasn't going to let up on the painful questions until she gets a rough idea of what the term meant and most are answered, Beca left everything she had to know on the plate, ready to serve for the three mermaids. "Sex is meant for pleasure, as well as making babies. Intercourse-which means the vagina gets penetrated by the penis and eventually, sperm from the male's reproductive organ shoots up and enters the egg to which the females carry, thus creating a baby. Sex can be done as female on female, or male on male. It just means they'll never be able to have a baby because males don't carry eggs and females don't produce sperm."

Beca took released a deep breath after the mouthful she just spit out and made sure Chloe and her sisters were on the same page. Luckily and by the nods of their heads as they listened, were following everything she said so she didn't have to repeat it. Even if they didn't understand, she doesn't think she'd be able to say all of that again without combusting.

"For myself, I have not participated in sexual activity-which then categorizes me as a virgin." Usually, Beca would clam up when people would ask her if she had sex or not. It got to the point where she'd end up just walking away from the conversation. Now though when admitting she was a virgin, she said clear as day, probably because she felt more like dying at the sex talk.

Really, who uses the word intercourse anymore? She felt disgusting after explaining all of _that_.

"What do mermaids do? Well since you're half fish, don't you like hump each other or something?" Beca flinched at the bluntness and how non educational her brother sounded just then. Rule number one, you can't just jump the gun and ask someone how they have sex. Whether they're human or not, it's never okay.

"Cloacal kiss isn't it?" Luke answered for the mermaids.

"No to both of those. We don't just _hump_ each other and though some fish can mate through the cloacal kiss, mermaids do not," Aubrey kept her tone steady, easily explaining this to the boys which no doubt got thrown right over their head. "For pleasure wise, obviously we have the upper half similar to humans, so of course we touch and kiss."

Stacie nodded her head, sending Beca a wink that went unnoticed by her girlfriend. Beca stifled a chuckle because still, Chloe eyes were fixated on her like she was the only person left on Earth.

It was nice, and she felt warm and tingly under Chloe's stare.

"Haven't you three heard anything about this stuff?" Beca asked as it seemed like pretty big news to the mermaids. When they all shook their heads no, Beca eyes widened. "How does it work in your world?"

Obviously, there was a whole kingdom of mermaids, so the population had to keep growing somehow.

"Similar to human girls, mermaids carry the eggs. They only spurt during time changes, such as seasonal- even the nights of full moons and weather changes, which is called our breeding season-"

"OH! So kinda like a period; the monthly gift from Mother Nature some say," Jesse said, obviously proud at his comparison between the two. Beca on the other hand mouths "shut up" under her angry eyes because she can already physically feel the bolts and screws turning inside that luscious set of red hair, mustering up a question as to what a period was.

Truthfully, she didn't think she could make it through alive explaining that whole process.

"Anyways." Oblivious of the interaction between Beca and Jesse, Aubrey continued, "When choosing the right merman to fertilize the eggs we eventually lay in a secluded area, sperm is transferred and babies are hatched. That's why our father was so strict about who we fell in love with and would chose the mermans he thought were right for us. As for Stacie and I, we couldn't give him the life of creating other mermaids and build his Kingdom so, why keep around his daughters that were created to mate and reproduce babies when they couldn't even do that?"

The bitterness was seen through Aubrey's voice and Beca frowned hearing this. As from what she can gather through the stories these mermaids have told her about their father, she can take a wild guess and say he isn't a good guy. Yet still, these three mermaids-his _daughters-_ love him with all their heart and would order the sea witch to roam around the entire ocean just to make sure he was alive and healthy.

If you were to ask Beca, she'd say he didn't deserve three gems like these girls were.

"You'd be the _perfect_ mom." Stacie saw the irritation and probably felt the stiffness come from Aubrey's body language as her arms hung around the blonde's waist. Placing a kiss over Aubrey's cheek, she smiled when Aubrey's cheek rose into a smaller smile.

"Well when we get back to California, you guys could get married and even look into adoption," Beca added with a warm smile. By a hunch, she could tell not being able to have kids was a sore subject for Aubrey. She also knew how much the blonde loved Stacie; it was quite obvious and actually pretty darn cute. "There's tons of kids out there that need a home and two kick ass moms. Maybe that's a talk you two could have once you guys get settled in the human world."

Stacie and Aubrey didn't respond verbally but instead, offered the cheekiest smile Beca has yet to see and floated off into their own little world with chaste kisses and ridiculously adorable but still nauseating looking googly eyes. Chloe for her part, as she watched her sisters melt away with love and all that other gushy stuff, squeezed Beca's hand and gave an appreciative look with her big blue eyes.

"Since I haven't had…. _sex_...does that make me a virgin too?" On a semi lighter note, Chloe only directed this question to be heard by Beca-to which she was grateful for. Even if it was loud enough, she didnt think anyone else would be paying attention since the lovebirds were preoccupied and Jesse and Luke have started their own conversation amongst themselves.

"I uh, y-yeah...yeah I guess." Beca ended with a strangled snicker, unprepared for the redhead to beam a megawatt smile at the classification.

"We are going to have sex," Chloe chirped this demand...it sounded like. Beca, who wasn't expecting to hear this come from Chloe's mouth, choked on her saliva, her face immediately heating back up. Unlike her quite, unnoticed voice from the previous question to everyone else around the fire, her volume was amplified, alerting both pairs from their individual interactions to gape at what Chloe said.

" _Whoa_. Am I hearing things or are you two about to go at it right here, right now?" Jesse was _not_ helping the burn in Beca's face, especially now with the audience Chloe attracted, watching and waiting for an answer.

"I...uh s-sure...um…" Overall, Beca was one big stuttering mess. Hasn't she been flustered enough tonight? Give the girl a break. Knowing nothing coherent will come out of her mouth if she has eyes watching her like hawks, she stood up from the sand and reached out a hand for Chloe to take.

Immediately, Chloe linked their fingers together and allowed Beca to pull her up to stand. They walked to a more secluded area on shore, ignoring all the whistles coming from the two imbeciles she called her best friends and fell into a cozy position leaning on the cave's rocks.

"Are we about to have sex right now?" Beca barked out a laugh, using this as a defense mechanism for hiding the true embarrassment filing her veins at the preposition from Chloe.

"No we aren't," Beca finally mustered up all the strength in her body to say this. Chloe however, arched her eyebrows up at the response. "In the future, _hopefully_ , yes. Sex isn't like giving someone a high five or a hug. Sex is a life changing moment someone and their partner face and should be the happiest moment of their lives. I know I already have a hurricane of emotions towards you already, but even with those, participating in sex now wasn't the right time," Beca explained carefully, trying her best not to say the wrong thing. But so far, Chloe was able to grasp everything said and didn't have that confused expression on her face like before.

"When the times comes for that, you and I both will know. Just because we don't have sex now doesn't change my feelings towards you. I'm sorry that this might be a little straightforward but _Jesus_ , I'm falling for you and falling for you pretty damn hard," Beca admitted without so much of a hitch.

"I know I'm pretty much a dip when it comes to all these human things and will probably most likely than not take me a while to understand the human world. But I have to admit I'm pretty freaking excited to figure out all these things with you."

Beca swooned at the fragile words that exited from Chloe's mouth, only heightening her love for the mermaid even higher.

Beca moved over, allowing Chloe to lay in the empty space between her legs. Arms that were circled around Chloe's waist wrap around tighter as she placed a single, lingering kiss to Chloe's temple. They sat in comfortable silence, enjoying the gentle sound of the waves crash along shore. It was perfect Beca thought-even as weird as it may seem, because she was still deserted on this random island.

But being here with Chloe, there was no place she'd rather be.

So help her God, Beca thinks she is in love with her.

Scratch that, Beca _knows_ she is in love with her

* * *

For the first time since Beca has been stranded on this deserted island, she finally had a solid, great night of sleep. Maybe it was because she has been running on probably an hour tops of sleep and was so exhausted before she swears if she was up any longer, she'd start seeing pigs flying and sharks walking along shore with their newly grown legs.

But the main reason why was because of the insanely warm body practically glued to her side, arm hooked around her torso as she inhaled the scent of saltwater in the red hair that was pressed against her chest. Seriously, the girl was like a heat box-which is abnormal because Chloe is pretty much half fish...

Well, _was_ half fish.

But still, you'd think as a former mermaid, they'd produce less body heat. Either way though, Beca was content. _Really_ content. Because even though it was hotter than the Satan's butt during the day when the sun was out, once it turned to night, a cold breeze would radiate off the ocean and it tended to get pretty chilly-for some reason _extra_ chilly last night.

With Chloe wrapped around her body, she was at a comfortable temperature and it was perfect. Definitely something she could get use to waking up to everyday when they finally get back to Santa Cruz.

Beca wakes up before anyone-even before the sun rises surprisingly. It must be close however, with the pink and orange glow that's starting to form in the far distance above the ocean.

On shore where they were sleep wasn't the most comfortable as for their bodies and Beca was one to admit to that. Just ask her muscles and cramp in her neck. Where she lays, there had to be either something stabbing into her back or she was just insanely sunburned that it felt like knives were puncturing every inch of skin. She had a dead arm holding Chloe, she tweaked her neck from sleeping with zero neck support and _God_ , did her body feel absolutely _disgusting_.

A warm shower could not come soon enough.

She took a look at Chloe who was sleeping peacefully on her chest. Her eyes were fluttering underneath her eyelids and her hand was curled up to a fist and was resting just above her lips.

Beca didn't even think it was possible to look this beautiful while unconscious. But then again, it's Chloe who she's talking about, and the girl can probably burp, or wear a mask of clown make up and still look as jaw dropping as ever.

Crazy to think this _treasure_ is her actual girlfriend.

For everyone else, Aubrey and Stacie were cuddled up as close up to the fire they could get; Stacie had her legs wrapped around Aubrey's and just looked like one big tangled mess with limbs. Jesse and Luke were passed out on top of each other and Beca really wished she had her camera to take a picture of the cuddling macho mans.

For now, she took a mental image.

Starting to feel fatigue again, she placed a kiss on top of Chloe's head, right around her hairline and smiled when Chloe started to mumble something incoherent in her sleep, pulling Beca's frame closer if possible. She shook her head with a laugh and closed her eyes, hoping for at least an hour more of sleep before they take off on their journey.

* * *

_Beca was startled awake to a boisterous crackling of thunder that vibrated through her body as streaks of lightning glowed throughout the pitch black sky. Somehow, she fell asleep and has been asleep for a while not to notice that it has been raining pretty heavily. She also was unaware that she was alone on shore, no Chloe, no Aubrey and Stacie, and no Jesse and Luke. The beach was ghostly silent other than the booming thunder that echoed the beach every ten seconds._

" _Chloe?" Beca called out, her voice hoarse but she was at least trying to keep her worry at bay. Not always wanting to jump to conclusion that something bad has happened to her friends, she tried again. "Chloe?" A little louder this time but still ending up with the same results._

_No response._

_Terrified at this point, the eerie chill that's breezing over her on shore not helping her levels of panic, she stumbled to get up but as she stands to walk in search for everyone, her feet get caught up in what looks like quicksand._

" _Shit," she grunted out as she tried to pull her feet out from the muddy substance. Doing this only made her feet submerge deeper and now instead of just her feet trapped, the sand went all the way up to the middle of her calves._

" _HELP!"_

_Beca froze all her sloppy movements as this cry for help rang along shore. She knew that voice and wouldn't be able to forget it even if she tried. Looking around the beach though, she saw nothing. No one was there._

" _Chloe!" Beca yelled, her attempts to break free from the mud only becoming more erratic and not budging one bit. "Chloe!" Starting to panic, thinking that something bad has happened to the girl, she yelled louder._

" _Beca!" Beca heard her name loud and clear this time._

_It was Chloe._

_She scanned the deserted over and over again, praying that she catch the redhead before anything bad happened to her. As she continued to scream for Chloe, her body sunk deeper and deeper through the thick mud, making it all the way up to her chest now. With the pressure, it felt impossible to breath, let alone move. The longer she thrashed in the sand submerging her body, the quicker she sunk._

_"Beca!"_

_She heard Chloe's voice again, but instead of responding, her lungs filled up with sand, unable to form any actual words as she fought to breathe._

"Beca!"

Hearing this, she snapped up from her sleep, gasping for air and feeling a later of sweat covering her forehead.

"Oh my crabs, Beca are you okay?!" Chloe made no attempt to give Beca her space before she threw herself into a tight hug. "You were making these weird noises in your sleep and it was starting to freak me out!"

"Told yah, Becs. You snore like a bulldog," Jesse teased, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Obviously, Chloe's scare had woken up the whole beach when she saw Aubrey and Stacie starting to stir as well. Beca was just jumping off of walls seeing that Chloe was okay and she wasn't alone on shore.

Also, she was glad that the quicksand was gone.

Wrapping her arms around the redhead, still unable to believe she was actually there, Beca hugged the living life out of Chloe. She took in the embrace for a while, overwhelmed by her dream but mostly because Chloe was warm and somehow she got the chills during her sleep. Pulling away but not too far, she was met by worried blue eyes and a face of peppered kisses.

Despite her heart running a mile a minute, the layer of sweat covering her forehead and the erratic change in her breathing pattern, she felt a swarm of butterflies attack her stomach each kiss placed all over her face.

Chloe was safe.

That's all that mattered.

"Sorry," Beca apologized as she laughed in between kisses; the feeling of flying on cloud nine still never ending. "Just had a nightmare."

Chloe cupped Beca's face with both hands, pouring everything she had to say in a single look. "I was so worried about you. I thought you couldn't breathe." She frowned, eyes falling with her mouth and Beca was about to think Chloe was going to start crying. _God_ , how did she get so lucky to have someone who cared about her this much. "I _can't..._ lose you, Beca."

Feeling her heart triple in size, Beca mirrored the hands on her jaw to do the same to Chloe's. She swiped at the definition of the mermaid's jaw bone with the pads of her thumb. "I don't plan on leaving." She smiled instantly when one curved up on Chloe's lips.

"I'll protect you if you protect me," Chloe whispered, voice cracking and sounding awfully weak. "I gave you my heart and I expect you to keep it safe."

It's bizarre how Beca can go from having a panic attack due to a nightmare one moment and then the next, hastily changing into feeling like she was drowning under all the love Chloe had piled up for her, most definitely making her the happiest she has ever been.

Never breaking away from Chloe's gaze, "I promise," Beca spoke up and sealed the deal with a passionate kiss.

"Nobody wants to lose anybody here," Jesse said this after his obnoxious "awe's" directed towards Chloe and Beca, breaking up their kiss and receiving the finger from his sister. "Which is why we train before we head out for our journey!"

" _Okay_ ," Beca mocked sarcastically. "And how are we going to do that, Avatar the Last Airbender? It's not like we have a table full of weapons to choose from. You suddenly pick up karate, or stopped wanking off to UFC girls and was finally able to pick up a few "moves?""

"We aren't going to be the ones doing the training. As far as I know, you're a Hell of a swimmer and Luke and I are good with spears," Jesse tried to explain calmly but all he got was multiple confused stares from not only Beca, but everyone else listening in as well. Sighing, "our weapons of choice, as you say, are these three lovely ladies." He pointed to the equally stunned sisters, who were sharing glances as if one of them had to know what this kid was rambling about.

"No. Absolutely not." Being protective of Chloe wasn't too surprising. It didn't sound like the best idea to throw her girlfriend out to the wolves."They aren't pieces of meat, Jesse. Plus, don't you think we are chancing our luck staying here if we stay and train….whatever the fuck that means?"

Even worse, Chloe and her sisters aren't their pets.

"He could be onto something Becky," Luke intervened his two cents. Curse him for always being so damn optimistic and more times than not taking Jesse's side over her's. "How certain are you three with your powers?" This time, he directed his question to the mermaids.

"Well, we've been hunting for a hundred years now, so you can guess that we are pretty familiar with them," Aubrey hissed back and Beca couldn't help but snicker under her breath. At least she wasn't the only one who thought that this idea was unnecessary and all around stupid.

"Hydrokinesis is something we all grew up on, especially with our father breathing down our necks to perfect it. So, we have pretty much mastered that skill, not that it matters since Lurkers also have that ability and would be useless. Weather change, also called atmokinesis, is something we are highly familiar with and as for individual skills, we are pretty experienced," Stacie explained in a far more gentle tone compared to her girlfriend's.

Jesse and Luke nodded their heads, taking all this in. "Okay, what is it that these Lurkers are capable of doing?"

"They vary in size; some can be small and hard to find, others can be quite large, but nothing bigger than Luke's size. They can manipulate water and are extremely fast. Often, they carry bows and have mastered in archery, so their aim is nothing to mess with." Beca was sure Stacie's not even halfway done explaining these Lurkers and already, her eyes are bulging from her skull in fear.

Great, the lurkers were basically a million Katniss Everdeens. 

How were the four of them suppose to go against _that_?"

"They're extremely strong and travel in an army, way more than the four of us combined, even if we _were_ to use our powers."

Beca was freaking out, to say the least. Things were starting to get real and they were getting real fast. It's terrifying to think that any second, a herd of crab like soldiers could charge up the shore, about ready to kill all of them.

"Using your powers might be the only option," Luke said. Changing his gaze over to one of the mermaids that has yet to speak, he asked, "What about you, Chloe? How familiar are you with your powers?"

Not feeling comfortable that Luke was putting Chloe under the spotlight, her hand gripped tighter at their conjoined hands, letting her know that she was there.

"I mean, I'm vaguely familiar. I discovered hydro-thermokinesis when I was young and have only used it in water. But when meeting you guys, I discovered that I can heat things outside of water."

When hearing the answer he had been waiting for, Luke lit up. "You see? I bet you anything you girls can figure out new stuff about your powers that you didn't even think you were capable of doing. It wouldn't hurt to test out your strengths and weaknesses. At least get an idea."

Beca still wasn't on board all the way, still thinking it was risky staying here on shore when really they should be walking through the island's forest to find a way out.

But what Luke was saying made sense. Her, Jesse and Luke weren't trained to fight off Lurkers, let alone participate in anything violent. When's the last time Beca threw a spear at someone and killed them. Hell, when was the last time Beca punched someone other than that one time in high school-which is a story left to be untold.

The answer is _never._

They're running out of options and the strongest weapons they have happen to be these mermaids-her _girlfriend._ As much as she wants to say no to this idea and keep Chloe as safe as possible, she knows she is more safe when it's Chloe doing the protecting

And she wouldn't be able to do that if she isn't confident with her powers.

Crumbling to her brother and Luke's words, she agreed to the training and followed Chloe out to the water.

Might as well start now before they run out of time.

* * *

Training lasted only an hour it felt like. The sun was now fully raised in the sky, lighting the beach and bringing a warming heat wave to the temperature. There was still an aroma of it being morning with the breeze and humidity in the air, knowing damn well it gets pretty hot when it reaches around twelve.

As for the training, the mermaids worked on their water skills, building waves of the biggest sizes they could create and even some pretty gnarly whirlpools. Once they were confident in the water aspect of their powers, they moved along to shifting the weather. Cyclones, sprouts, high wind speeds, heavy rain, the strongest and brightest lightening known to man and tidal waves were performed in the matter of minutes.

They separated into pairs; Luke and Jesse went off and work on their aim with spears while Aubrey and Stacie went out to the water and practiced with far less intense waves. For Beca, she helped Chloe with trying to evolving her skill, hoping to light a flame within the redhead's stomach because she knows Chloe is more than capable of doing so.

"Okay Red, I think you're being too innocent right now," Beca joked as she saw Chloe only lifting her hands up towards a tree, creating an invisible blow of fire. "Get mean! Get mad!"

"But I'm so happy right now," Chloe groaned, throwing her head back in defeat and looking like an adorable pouting child. " _You_ make me happy and I can't help but feel all this seaweed in my tummy whenever I'm around you. So like….go away." She waved Beca off with her hand, glueing her focus back onto the palm tree in front of her.

Beca rolled her eyes with a smile. Chloe was so freaking cute when she looked so serious and determined. Although being a little hurt that Chloe was kicking her out of lessons, she figured she can go see how training was going on with Stacie and Aubrey.

Just as she was walking away, Chloe reached out to grab her wrist, pulling in the brunette's face and gave her one, gentle peck on the lips before returning all attention back to the tree. Frozen in place a little at first, Beca shook it off, smile dopey and just sappy gross and walked over to where Aubrey and Stacie were sitting on shore, their legs submerged in the water.

As she squated down to join them, she noticed a clear, glass like object circling around in Stacie's hand.

"What's that?" Beca asked, pointing at the piece. Unaware at the new presence, Stacie smiled when she saw it was Beca.

"You know how Bree's power was growing human legs?" Beca nodded her head, vividly remembering this so called power with personal experience. Hands down the scariest, most shocking moment of her life. "Well turns out, as a human she can perform substanciakinesis." Stacie gushed with a proud smile and handed Beca the object.

_Jesus._

Now that was a mouthful.

"And that is?" Beca arched a brow, getting a feel of the unknown piece. Now that she was holding it, she realized that it wasn't glass but more so a spear of crystal.

"This is the power to turn water and all things that contain water into a substance similar to crystal. Basically, the hardening of water." Beca froze at Stacie's clarification, non intentionally and not in a pun type of way. "We were messing around with waves and then all of a sudden, a droplet from the water started to change from a liquid into a solid and I looked over and saw it was Aubrey who was causing this."

Showing Beca in person, Aubrey used her powers to pull out a sphere of water from the ocean before quickly morphing the water into a shimmering, ball of crystal.

Amazed would be an understatement when witnessing this for Beca. Luke was actually right about the mermaids discovering more about their powers. She honestly couldn't believe it really.

"That's really fucking cool," Beca complimented and meant every last word. Aubrey smiled, keeping up a good job hiding her levels of excitement under it. Knowing for a fact Chloe would want to hear the news about her sister's newly developed power, she rose to stand on her feet, but not before something deathly excruciating clipped to her toes, causing her to wail in pain.

Under the pinching pain of whatever it was hooked to her pinky toe, Beca glanced into the clear water and saw a pretty decent size red crab attached to her foot. Beca kicked over and over again in attempt to shake the crab off her foot, not knowing exactly how she missed the guy.

Aubrey and Stacie both started to panic as Beca was moving around too much to even see what on Earth she was screaming about. Anytime she stood still, thinking the crab fell off, that pinching sting would come back as a bang and radiate through her entire body, head to toe.

Pain wise, she thinks that this might be worse than the jellyfish sting.

Why why why does everything bad happen to her?

"Fuck! Get off!" Beca screamed, and screamed some more. It felt like she had only seconds left before her pinky toe would be sliced right off her foot.

Last resort when she saw blood pouring out from the wound underneath the pinchers, Beca slammed to the sand, cradling her leg to pry off the bastard herself since kicking wasn't doing a damn thing. Just as she was about to pull the pinchers apart and destroy this little shit for almost amputating her toe, the tightness from the claws vanished while the crab erupted into a ball of fire.

Able to now shake off the crab since it was strangely only a ball of flame, Beca kicked it into the water before the flame  ended up burning her skin. The pain was gone for the most part, unless she moved her foot where a newly imprinted crab mark was bleeding profusely. Thankfully, under all that blood was an attached toe connected to her foot, which she only cared about. 

Jesse and Luke came sprinting in while she glanced at Aubrey and Stacie to see if they were the ones responsible for turning that crab into a roasted marshmallow during a campfire. When she saw only shocked expressions from both mermaids, she could only think of one other person capable of turning anything into fire. Before she could even turn around though and face the suspect, someone-most likely Chloe- came barreling into Beca's back, embracing her with a tight hug from behind.

Beca twisted her body around in Chloe's arms and caught a slight glimpse of the redhead's eyes, noticing that they were that milky white color and not her usual blue.

"Okay you little fire ball. Wanna explain?" Beca laughed into Chloe's hair, already forgetting about her injury.

No time wasted, Chloe healed Beca's injury before answering with another valuable power. Beca took a look and saw only small forming scars gapped perfectly apart around her toe; no longer a droplet of blood insight. She thanked Chloe and was entranced by the retransformation in Chloe's eyes as they shifted back to that glowing blue.

"I don't really know what happened. I was working on my powers when I heard you scream and all of sudden, my blood felt like it was boiling, traveling rapidly throughout my veins. Then, that thing on your foot just bursted into flames and I think that I did that."

"You think? You're the only one here that can produce fire, and that's not because you're the hottest one out here- which hundred percent, you are." Beca threw a wink at Chloe and heard a scoff from Stacie before a grumbled "debateable" was heard under the mermaid's voice.

"I can take a rough guess and assume Chloe that your hydro-thermokinesis power can now be changed to just _thermokinesis_. Even with the smallest ounce of water, you can use that and create it into a flame." Aubrey informed, obviously proud that she and her sister discovered new things about their powers.

Chloe squealed at the news, clapping her hands excitedly while Aubrey gave her a show of the newest skill she just picked up.

"Guess all it took for you to get mad was something hurting me," Beca said with a killer smirk, nudging her shoulder into Chloe's. "At least now I know nothing will hurt me as long as you're near by."

"I always will be," Chloe said confidently with a bright smile; one that told Beca she spoke nothing but the truth. And for the first time in Beca's life, she believed her.

"What bit you anyway?" Chloe asked at the memory of why she was even over here in the first place.

"A fucking crab. I didn't even see it crawling up on shore but the thing had knives for claws, probably the biggest I've seen on one before-"

"Wait," Chloe interrupted and Beca immediately saw the look of panic wash over her features. She wasn't able to get anything else out before Aubrey blacked out cold on the sand until Stacie was cradling her body while she had another vision.

Even with the distance, Beca could see the throbbing pulse from Aubrey's heart rate thump in her throat and her eyes twitching over milky colored eyes. Whatever it was that the mermaid was seeing she could take a rough guess and figure nothing good is going to come from it.

A lot quicker than her previous visions, Aubrey violently snapped her body up from Stacie's arms with a strangled gasp for air, startling everyone around her. All Chloe needed was one brief glimpse at her sister's pale, horrified face to know exactly what she saw in her vision.

"They're coming," was all Chloe said before she grabbed onto Beca's hand to pull her for the cave's entrance. Everything moving fast now as Beca was being towed aggressively in Chloe's firm grasp, she had no idea what was going on and really what to do.

Apparently, Chloe and her sisters did though as they prepared the following night for their departure from the island, packing all needed things and putting the supplies in an easy spot to grab quickly.

"Chloe, what's going on? What did Aubrey see?" Beca asked worriedly but Chloe was too focused on grabbing supplies and glancing out into the ocean every other second, checking for something Beca had no idea what it was.

Jesse and Luke sprinted up to follow, spears held firmly in their hands. Where Aubrey and Stacie were sitting before this sudden change in behavior thrashed back and forth with strong waves, crashing against the sand before the sound of thunder boomed throughout the beach, lighting the sky with a bright flash of white. 

Soon, only adding to the eerie aroma, the newly darkened sky started twisting into funnel clouds and in a blink of an eye, heavy rain began pouring out from the sky.

Taking a wild guess and figuring it wasn't Chloe or her sisters creating this sudden storm, only one other option came to mind.

And when it did, Beca felt her heart literally drop to the pit of her stomach.

No words after the realization of who "they" actually were was spoken while Beca shut her mouth and helped sort out the supplies. Orders of carrying a backpack filled with God knows what came from Aubrey as she instructed the others on what to grab.

Rain continued pouring out from the now _black_ clouds, making it almost impossible to see a good distance away. Lightening followed rather quickly, strobing the sky with a bright flash of light that was blinding to the eyes and the waves from the ocean only became bigger and stronger.

"We need to go right now!" For the first time since Beca has met the blonde, her voice broke with fear and if Aubrey was scared, there's no way in Hell this could end well.

"Is it Poseidon?" Beca asked in between hauling the bags over her shoulders. She threw on a pair of jean shorts that she was wearing before the boat crash and strapped the backpack in place over her stomach muscles.

She remembered quite well about the stories of Poseidon and what the God was capable of performing and knowing all of this, only made her panic rise. As far as she knows, their time was running on a thin line between life and death, so getting off this island; at least away from the water was a dead  _must_.

"Yes," Chloe finally answered once giving Luke and Jesse their own individual backpacks. Chances are, the mermaids are going to have to do all the fighting so carrying anything wasn't an option. "Poseidon is creating the storm while the Lurkers are coming up from the ocean by what Aubrey's vision told her."

"Wait, how far away were they?"

Aubrey was about to answer Beca's question until a sharp arrow zoomed by Beca's face, skimming the tip of her nose, just barely missing her the side of her head and sticking into the cave's rocks next to her. Following the trail from where the arrow was shot, Beca almost passed out when she saw what it was emerging from beneath the water.

By the plate like body, circled by ten, large pointed legs and a torso similar to a man's, she could assume these creatures were Lurkers. They were terrifying also, with their pale upper skin and deformed looking face, only sporting a mouth of fangs and two blinding white eyes. Thousands of them came filing out from the water, marching up the shore fast to where Beca and everyone else was standing.

After a while, Beca heard her hearing go out, just as if she was stuck in a fishbowl with two ears full of water, or going through a tunnel. Her eyes were glued to these creatures, unable to fully believe that there were things out in this world as petrifying as Lurkers and still in shock that they actually exist. Not realizing that she was cemented in place, Chloe grabbed onto her arm to pull her away, just in time before a swarm of arrows came flying her way.

About ready to duck for her life before one of them punctured somewhere on her body, Chloe raised her hands, creating a gust of wind to blow all the shot arrows back in the opposite direction. Like giant spiders and unfazed by the wind, the Lurkers continued crawling up the shore behind the facet of rain still pouring harder than ever.

"Come on!" Chloe pulled Beca to her feet again and sprinted over to where Stacie, Aubrey, Jesse and Luke were searching for the perfect route to climb up the cave's walls.

Losing time rather quickly, Jesse and Luke started spearing at the smaller and apparently faster Lurkers that were aiming for their feet. With the sheet of rainin their vision, seeing anything was basically impossible and almost to the point where it was hard to breathe. Luckily though, the mermaids seemed to work fine under the weather conditions and together, with eyes glowing white, they created a large water sprout to suck in majority of the Lurkers still crawling out from the ocean and exploded the formed water tube with them all inside like a bomb.

Beca used her eyes as best as she could go to spot out a perfect route to take up the cave and get away from the ocean. It wouldn't be the easiest to climb up but with not all the time in the world, they had no other choice.

If she were to do this, she'd be able to untangle a rope from her bag to reel in the others below her.

"Here!" She pointed over to the area and began grabbing at the vines glued to the moist cave wall. Getting a good hold was hard since the rain made everything slippery and the added panic wasn't helping keep her movements smooth. Jesse gave her a boost through which made it somewhat easier.

"Fuck my powers aren't working on them!" Stacie cursed as she watched the Lurkers march in closer, unfazed by her abilities. Beca only could hear what was going on; her main focus was getting up this cliff, but not even looking, she could tell the Lurkers were coming in fast.

She had to hurry before they ran out of time.

Chloe used her powers to pull a stream of water out from the ocean before boiling it and throwing it all over the first line of soldiers. From the scorching heat, the Lurkers screeched in pain, roaring into the sky that left Beca wincing from the piercing pain in her ears.

She didn't stop climbing though, no matter how much she wanted to. Her muscles were cramping from carrying her body weight, the rain was flooding her vision and she had to dodge a series of incoming arrows blinded. For the most part though, she was running on adrenaline to get her ass up this cave.

Seeing the forming green on top as she arched her neck, Beca used the last bit of energy she had to push herself up and over. She flopped into the muddy grass, whipping out the rope from her bag before tossing it over into the ground below.

All of a sudden, Lurkers started appearing from every other direction; one ended up landing directly on Chloe's back, about ready to tear at her skin with its teeth. Not quick enough though, Chloe used her strength to yank the Lurker off her back and over her shoulder, using her own set of fangs to rip off a mouthful of flesh from its neck, tearing the remaining limb off the body completely.

Beca felt her heart clench seeing Chloe that close to being killed on spot. Not caring how she did it, but knowing it needed to be done, she yelled for Chloe to climb up the rope so she'd be at a safer level. As she was reaching out a hand to help pull Chloe up the cliff, an arrow skimmed pass her arm, this time slicing straight through her shoulder.

There was an excruciating sting where the arrow came in contact, but knowing if she were to let go from the mermaid's hand, Chloe would fall down into shore. So, she ignored the pain for now, gritting her teeth as the blood streamed down her arm and pulled Chloe up the remaining distance.

Using the forming rage at seeing Beca cradle her arm in pain, Chloe used the little bit of water from the moist sand on shore and formed a line of fire to radiate a wall, stopping the Lurkers from coming any farther. Not able to keep up the large flame since the heavy rain coming down  quickly fizzled out the wall, they began moving towards them once again. It might have not worked as long as Chloe was hoping, but at least it gave them time. 

One Lurker used the rain falling to create a sphere of water before hardening it and threw it directly over to where Jesse and Luke were fighting off smaller Lurkers and thankfully, they were able to duck just in time before it shattered into the cave.

"Guys! Let's use wind!" Aubrey ordered, already generating her hands in a motion to create a large gust of wind in front of her. Stacie and Chloe automatically did the same, producing their own set of wind to combine with Aubrey's and once large enough, Aubrey pushed the gust out to where the Lurkers were migrating from, blowing their entire army back into the ocean.

With the added time to get up this cave and one by one, they started climbing up the rope. Beca was thrashing in pain, seeing a deep gash on her left shoulder from the arrow but now seeing Chloe, Jesse and Stacie on top of the cave with her made her feel a little more at ease.

Safe territory for them was right around the corner.

All they needed to do was get rid of these pain in the asses.

"Oh no Beca." Chloe hurried over to inspect Beca's injury, already starting to collect her own blood to start the healing process.

Bouncing back from the gust of wind, Lurkers came spilling out from the ocean, moving even faster than before. Plus if possible, Beca thinks that their army doubled in size. "They're too fast! We will never make it with the amount of soldiers they have!"

Jesse was right.

Even if everyone were to make it up this cave, they wouldn't be able to get far before the Lurkers used their legs and started climbing. Why the fuck did they have to be half crab!?

"Aubrey, come on!" Stacie yelled when she saw that Aubrey was making no effort in climbing the rope to get up top. Trying again since her voice seemed to fly straight over the blonde's head, "Aubrey! Come on! We need to go!"

Frozen in place and staring out into the water where waves were crashing, "I'll stay." Was all she said. Her voice wasn't loud, it wasn't panicked and it was drifting more to the tone of being completely calm when it definitely _shouldn't_.

"What?!" Stacie seemed appalled from the the response and continued to urge Aubrey up the cliff as if she didn't say anything at all. "Come on Aubrey! They're coming!"

Minus the throbbing pain in her arm while Chloe operated on the injury, Beca was in the same position as Stacie as to why Aubrey wasn't climbing up the cliff, or even making the effort to move.

"I can use my powers to lock them under the water by a strong sheet of glass, just long enough for you guys to find safety in the jungle. No way would we make it if there isn't some sort of barrier!" This time Aubrey yelled her plan over the echoing thunder and crashing sound of rain hitting the surface like glass.

"No Aubrey! You don't have your tail anymore! You can't swim and can't stay under water like we use to! You'll die under there!" Stacie was crying now, but her white eyes were laced with anger. Beca took a glance at Chloe and saw the redhead was also crying but was extremely confused as to why she wasn't making an attempt to force her sister up the cliff like Stacie was so desperately trying to do.

"Aubrey you can't stay! Just climb up here and I'll go next!" Jesse tried chipping in his disapproval of the idea but it was unfazed by the blonde as she was fixated by the Lurkers charging at them in full motion.

"He's right! You'll be able to make it!" Luke added in a hurried tone, hoping that Aubrey would start climbing.

But again, she stood her ground, ignoring the pleas for her to move up the rope.

Twisting her face around to lock contact with Stacie's milky white orbs, "I love you so much, Stacie. Always know that." Despite the current situation, Beca's heart stung at how sincere and genuine Aubrey's words for Stacie were.

"No!" Stacie shook her head, her voice starting to break and sounding like a knot was forming in her throat from all the tears. "Don't you fucking say that Aubrey! Please let's go!" She was yelling as loud as she could under her sobs, but it was doing nothing in changing her girlfriend's mind. Even the banging from her hands she was doing to wave her girlfriend up the rocks was going unfazed by the blonde.

Starting to form another wall of wind by herself, Aubrey threw the gust back into the Lurkers, sending the entire army to fly into the darkened water and followed right behind.

" **Aubrey!** " Stacie screamed through her tears when seeing the blonde run out into the waters, no longer in sight. Catching that Stacie was already on the move to jump down from the cliff and save her girlfriend, Chloe quickly got up from where she was kneeling next to Beca and threw her arms around Stacie's frame to keep her in place.

Luke pulled Jesse up as the water from the ocean turned into a shimmering sheet of glass, keeping all the Lurkers underneath.

"LET GO OF ME!" Stacie wailed, her fangs eliciting from her mouth and not even caring that she was using her hands to claw at Chloe's arms in hope to get away. "AUBREY!" She yelled and yelled some more, hoping that Aubrey's presence would emerge from the water.

Beca's heart broke seeing Stacie at this state but also seeing Chloe keep her emotions bottled in, knowing Aubrey made the right and only decision to keep her sisters and friends safe.

 **"Aubrey! Chloe, LET GO!"** It finally got to the point were Stacie's voice was getting pretty scary. The saddened tone was gone through the tears as she snarled some sort of growl into Chloe's face, invisible white foam oozing from her mouth. It hit that point in Stacie's anger where Beca was worried for Chloe's well being.

Fast to see Stacie rage, Chloe whispered something into her sister's ear when the attacks to break away came violent and to the point where she wouldn't be able to hold the brunette back any longer. Immediately after Chloe retracted her mouth away from Stacie's ear, the green in her eyes transformed back to normal, replacing the white and her fangs morphed back into her normal set of teeth. Like a tranquilizer dart to a rabid animal, Stacie's strength faded away as she slumped into Chloe's hold, all the way until her limbs fell unconsciously.

When seeing the rapid change in body language, Beca  wondered what Chloe could have possibly said to calm Stacie down so quick, especially since she was seconds away from hurting the redhead in hopes to break free.

"Can you?" Chloe asked weakly to Luke, gesturing to the lifeless brunette sagging in her arms. Nodding his head, Luke threw Stacie over his shoulders to carry her the rest of the distance until she wakes up. "We need to go." Was all Chloe said as her eyes plummeted to the ground, hiding away all the stray tears.

Beca got up from her laying position to glance at the ocean still frozen solid in place. Of course the ocean wouldn't stay as a barrier for long, knowing Aubrey and her new lung capacity as human wasn't anything impressive.

If anything, they'd have around two minutes to get anywhere before Aubrey's powers started to fade away, opening the gate for the Lurkers once again.

Chloe started running first through the jungle while everyone else filed behind. With Chloe's ability to cure, Beca's arm was better than new, allowing her to run comfortably behind, only showing a scar at the injury. They ran for what felt like hours, but really it was only a few minutes. Once deep inside the jungle and the ocean no longer even in sight anymore, Chloe collapsed to her knees, bringing her hands up to hide her eyes as she cried uncontrollably.

At the fact that Chloe just lost her sister Beca's own eyes started to water as she saw how much it was affecting Chloe and watching a usually sweet, bubbly girl cry for the life of her own sister shredded Beca's heart apart. Seeing someone so incredibly strong break apart; it was heartbreaking. 

She kneeled down to join Chloe on the ground, opening her arms up for Chloe to squeeze into. On instincts Chloe molded her body into Beca's, crying her tears into the crook of Beca's neck. Unable to keep her own tears at bay, Beca cried as well into the top of Chloe's head.

"I'm sorry sorry Chloe," Beca was barely able to choke this out through a sob, not having the strength to amplify it any louder than a whisper. Chloe shook uncontrollably in her arms as she continued to cry her eyes out, up until there was no longer any tears left to shed.

Leaving behind her home for years and now losing her sister, Beca can't even imagine what Chloe was going through.

Setting Stacie down gently as the girl was still lifeless as ever, Jesse and Luke watched the scene as Chloe crumbled into Beca's hold. She knew for sure they both were having a hard time keeping their emotions controlled as a lone tear rolled down Jesse's cheek when he blinked the reality of the situation away.

They stayed like this for a while;Chloe pouring her emotions into Beca's neck while she did the same.

"Sacrifice."

Chloe sniffled, her crying no longer in sobs. Beca pulled away when hearing Chloe's weak voice after going so long of not experiencing it. Her eyes were bloodshot and there was two streams of wet trails down her cheeks. But unlike minutes ago, Chloe was getting her strength back. Maybe not all the way, but at least some she was getting some.

For the first time since meeting the mermaid, she look awful.

"Sacrifice. Sometimes we have to do this for the ones we love."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM. SO. SORRY.  
> (Please don't hate me for long).


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First of all…..I'M SORRRRRRYYYYY. I got really stuck on this chapter and then I got really sad that I couldn't write because I honestly wanted to, so I took a long, very long break away from this story. Thankfully, I was inspired after watching Finding Dory and I have to say I enjoy this chapter a lot, even after the struggle it put me through.
> 
> (I DO NOT OWN PITCH PERFECT NOR THE SONG MENTIONED)

Comforting someone who happened to be upset was hard in general. Comforting a girl like Chloe was even harder, especially taking into consideration what the girl has been through and lost. Beca didn't know what to do if she was being completely honest and really, she didn't think there was actually anything she _could_ do to make Chloe feel better.

In her life especially, she had experienced painful moments; nothing like this, however. She didn't think it was possible to experience the pain of a broken heart, but as she stood awkwardly in the distance behind Chloe, who had her knees tucked into her chest and was sobbing out to the forest with her still lifeless sister laying down next to her, she can honestly say that her heart not only broke, but shattered to pieces watching her girlfriend at such a devastating state.

Unable to handle the amount of tears running down Chloe's face for any longer, Beca walked the remaining distance until she squatted down next to the red eyed mermaid and as a reflex, swung her closest arm around the lower part of Chloe's back. Despite the waterfalls of tears and obvious statement that she wanted to be alone so she could handle her emotions in private, Chloe wasted no time when Beca's presence snuck up behind her to rest her head in the crevice of the brunette's neck and cried some more mourning tears over Aubrey.

Unshed tears that Beca had been trying so desperately to keep inside rolled down her cheek at experiencing the vulnerability of such a mighty predator first hand, but more so seeing her girlfriend, the one person she has such strong feelings for be able to hurt this bad. She pulled Chloe in closer to her embrace, even though the distance between their bodies was already nonexistent and she rested her cheek over the top of damp, red hair.

In their own little world, they cried in silence; Chloe didn't stop until her body began to hiccup, preventing her from crying any longer and Beca didn't stop until she knew Chloe was winding down. She felt Chloe's body start to stir, but only her hand which was scavenging to hold one of her's.

"I can't…. I _can't_ believe she is gone," More tears from Beca almost spilled at just the weakness projected in Chloe's voice when saying this.

She also didn't know how to respond to something like this because for one, she was never really good with the whole forming words with her mouth and it actually coming out coherent, let alone sincere. So, she settled on something different and something that she knows she was good at.

She started to sing.

" _Here comes the sun doo doo doo doo,"_ Beca's voice wasn't all the way back to normal and it came out a tad bit shaky, unlike usual with the knot of tears stuck in her throat. Chloe lifted her head to face Beca, her usual icy blue eyes now surrounded by red and sadness that hit Beca at home. " _Here comes the sun and I say,"_ she sang quietly but was gaining back her stronger singing volume each note and moved her hand connect to Chloe's to brush a strand of red hair behind the mermaids ear. " _It's alright."_

Why she was singing was a question Beca didn't truly understand herself but to defend her actions, she didn't know what else to do and by the way Chloe was staring so deeply and fragile into her eyes made her believe that she made the right decision. It wasn't large like normal, but at the corners of Chloe's mouth, there was a tug that brought out a weak smile while Beca continued to harmonize beautifully, not even once breaking the gaze between them.

"Aubrey was brave and helped us survive. I know it doesn't seem like it now but eventually, it's going to be alright, Chlo," Beca whispered once she figured singing lost its spotlight and was able to form comforting words for the first time ever. After connecting their fingers back together, she brought the pair up to her mouth and placed a light but lingering kiss over Chloe's knuckles.

Instead of replying, Chloe cried some more, tears trickling down her cheeks, but never ending up falling because Beca had brushed them away with the pad of her thumb before they could make it to the ground. And then she leaned in to placed the most delicate kiss over Beca's lips, molding their own salty, individual tears together before breaking away with a barely audible "thank you." Beca could feel the tremble within Chloe's kiss; the pain under the mask she was trying to paint on.

How could _anyone-regardless_ of how strong and mighty they may be-ever recover from something like this?

* * *

Beca didn't know how long they have been sitting spaced out in the forest; Chloe curled up under her arm and she hummed a soft tune to ease the mermaid, but it had to be long enough because soon, the heavy rain started to fade away to only trickled droplets, clearing up the sky once again. The forest was humid after the rain shower, really humid, in fact, compared to the air they had on the beach. She also knew that they were testing their luck staying here when the lurkers could find them any second.

She angled her head around to see two eyelids covering those glowing blue orbs, seeing that Chloe had fallen asleep. Kissing the top of Chloe's head a few times to wake her up gently, icy blue orbits gradually peeked themselves open, puffy and still surrounded by red from all the crying she has done the last hour or so.

"Hey," Beca whispered softly, trailing a finger to hook a strand of wet hair that was drier than before behind Chloe's ear. She rested her palm on the lower part of Chloe's jaw and swiped the pad of her thumb along her cheekbone. "We need to keep going. Are you okay?"

By the looks of it, Chloe was everything _but_ okay. She knew that it would be a very long time before Chloe was her usual, upbeat and bubbly self again, but that was to be expected. She lost someone close to her- _family_ , and she lost Aubrey because of a sacrifice to help them survive. That wasn't something to just kick under the bed and move on from. Knowing this, she would have to live with it for the rest of her life.

Chloe weakly nodded her head as she reached for Beca's hand to help her stand to her feet. Luke and Jesse were already talking about possible routes throughout the forest to head, which just looked like one, gigantic green maze that was never ending. Stacie, on the other hand, was still out cold, laying propped up against one of the trees.

"Is she going to be okay?" Beca asked worriedly. It's been awhile since Chloe pretty much stunned her into unconsciousness. She would've thought that by now Stacie would have woken up.

"All three of us are bonded pretty closely," Chloe spoke up, voice so fragile and weak that it could break any second. "I used a spell to calm her down when she was trying to go after Aubrey, putting her asleep until I reverse it. When Stacie gets mad-actually, when any of us gets mad, we are hard to control." She walked up to Stacie before kneeling down next to her, brushing her fingers through her sister's damp hair. "It was the last resort. I-I...I didn't know what else to do. I was afraid she was going to hurt one of us."

Beca can also agree to this; it looked like Stacie was seconds away from going Hannibal Lecter on Chloe to break free and save Aubrey from all those lurkers.

"She still might," Jesse added all of a sudden when seeing Chloe up next to Stacie. His eyes screamed skeptical and definitely uneasy at the thought of even touching the mermaid when knowing the damage she could do to any of them in the mere matter of seconds. "I can only imagine how upset she'll be all over again once waking up and realizing the love of her life is gone."

"Shouldn't we just...keep her like that?" Luke asked this time and Beca didn't think it was directed to come off so heartless as it sounded but to her, she got that drift and wanted nothing more but to punch the living day lights out of him.

Chloe didn't seem to taken back by it, however, and answered his question calmly, just like she always would. "We are going to have to face her grieving process regardless. It's inevitable. I can't keep her asleep forever; I've already lost one of my sisters today, I can't lose them both."

Now that was heartbreaking.

At these words, Luke and Jesse both zipped their mouths shut, not even a sound slipping out. Beca watched as Chloe took an obvious deep breath through her nose before leaning into Stacie's ear, whispering the same words as the first time, but instead of going to sleep, Stacie's green eyes flung open instantly and studied everyone around the forest like she's been asleep for ages.

No one talked during this this time; Beca was positive that she didn't even breathe once those dark jade eyes studied her like the terminator would. Sensing that the one person she was looking for was nowhere in sight, her glowing green eyes shifted into milky whites again before she switched hers and Chloe's position so fast that Beca couldn't even get a blink in.

Back pressed up harshly against the tree Stacie was leaning on and a forearm shoved directly in her throat which made it impossible to breathe, Chloe struggled trying to break away from Stacie's tight hold, legs dangling off from the ground while her nails clawed at Stacie's arm for the slightest bit of release.

"You _bitch_!" Stacie growled through her razor like fangs, spitting invisible white foam into her sister's face who desperately tried to squirm left to right in every way possible, hoping to catch any bit of air she was not able to get into her body because of Stacie's arm blocking off the passageways. "She's _gone_ and it's all _**your**_ fault!" Stacie took the arm holding Chloe up by throat and clawed her hands around that same area to throw her harsh across the forest where Chloe's back soon connected forcefully into another tree.

The sudden and surprising action alerted everyone who saw; Beca more so than Luke and Jess and she felt the pooling anger rising up in her body with her eyes locked in on Stacie who is a fuming machine. She didn't give a rats ass that Stacie has all these powers that could physically kill her in a blink of an eye, or that she was stronger, faster and a Hell of a lot scarier than she was, but rule number one in her book was that nobody lays a hand on her girlfriend.

Especially if that action caused Chloe to groan out in pain as she tried to stand to her feet, but then to only burst out wailing from the burn radiating through her entire body. Yep, that sight was enough to allow Beca to momentarily forget about Stacie's freakish mermaid powers and get bold with her next set of words that she'll probably regret later on.

"Hey!" Beca barked, her anger controlling her mouth while she watched Chloe fight to get up. Family, or even mermaid, Beca did not care who Stacie was and with that, she was ready to fight with two fists up. "Don't you _dare_ fucking touch her like that again!"

Stacie twisted her head around so fast, directing her white eyes and fangs straight for Beca instead of Chloe. She might've been all mighty and strong before seeing Chloe hurt, but now as Stacie looked at her like a piece of meat on a silver platter, she was truly scared for her life.

And maybe now, she regrets saying anything at all.

Jesse and Luke made the effort in moving towards Stacie, hopefully try to calm her down, but upon hearing their footsteps become louder and louder, Stacie created a large whirlwind to violently blow the boys back and far away from her before fixating her fuming eyes back on Beca.

"Stacie," Chloe groaned out of breath, cupping her ribs in pain from the harsh impact she experienced from hitting the tree. "Don't," her plea might of stopped Stacie from moving towards Beca, about ready to tear her head away from her body, but it most definitely didn't settle the visible anger pooled from head to toe in Stacie's body. Standing up slowly, Beca jogged her way over to Chloe, placing a helping hand on the mermaid's lower back.

"Are you okay?" Beca whispered and helped Chloe to stand as best as she could.

Right when Chloe was firm on her feet to stand, the most piercing cries in pain erupted from her mouth as she hastily collapsed back into the ground, writhing side to side from the pain Beca couldn't even spot on her body. When it clicked that only one person could produce this amount of pain on someone else's body without even touching them, Beca's eyes shot to Stacie, about ready to pounce when white eyes were seen glued to Chloe's wailing form on the ground.

"Beca...stop." She was literally marching her way up to Stacie; her protective anger controlling all her limbs and movements until Chloe, through a strangled grunt, called out for her to stop. All she wanted to do was get Stacie to stop-get her to _stop_ hurting her girlfriend for something she had no choice over, but when she locked eyes with another set of white orbs-these ones far less infuriated and more so weak and fragile- her rage began dissolved.

Stacie, who was full of rage, sadness and betrayal collapsed her knees into the ground, hands covering her eyes that have now transformed back into her normal color and were letting out all the emotions at once. Chloe, once gaining her footing back, gave Beca a nonverbal "thanks" and slowly limped her way over to her crying sister.

Beca grabbed her hand before she could walk a far enough distance away, giving her a warning glare with her eyes that wasn't all that certain Chloe should be going over to her sister when the last time got her thrown into a tree and wouldn't be much a shock if she probably had a few broken ribs. As bad of an idea it truly was, Chloe gave her a reassuring nod, along with a weak smile and slowly slipped her hand away from Beca's grip, continuing the distance to crouch down next to Stacie.

"Stacie…" Chloe's voice was cautious, like she was testing her life with a lion in a cage or swimming in the middle of the ocean with a great white shark. "I'm... _so_ sorry, Stace." Her eyes welled up with more tears saying this, bringing back all the emotions from before that Beca was sure she cried away.

"She's gone," Stacie said in between cries, not daring to remove her buried face from her hands to look at Chloe sitting next to her. "She's _gone_ -I could've done something! _We_ could've done something!" Her tone was changing increasing in volume, which was unsettling while Beca watched the scene between the sisters. She didn't think her body could handle witnessing Chloe getting hurt again without risking her life in return.

"You just left her, Chloe! You _left_ her when we could've saved her!" Stacie cried and screamed some more, hitting everyone in the heart at her broken words.

Chloe, who was all out of options to do, leaned in to wrap Stacie up in her embrace, only to be aggressively shoved away from any contact. It didn't stop her though and she swooped in again, wrapping her arms around Stacie's shoulders, bringing her sister's face into the divot of her neck while she stood her ground against Stacie's violent pushes.

Eventually after fighting the affection off for a bit, Stacie broke down; her attempts to break away from the hug became weak and she used her last bit of energy to hook her own arms tightly around the redhead, reciprocating the gesture as if her life depended on it and let all her emotions in the form of tears pour out into Chloe's neck.

"I'm so sorry, Stacie," Chloe repeated through a series of strangled cries, squeezing her broken sister as tight as she could, hoping to somehow pick up the crumbling pieces of her trembling lips, she kissed the top of Stacie's head. "Im so, _so_ sorry."

Chloe knew a verbal response from Stacie was asking for a lot, so she wasn't too surprised to find Stacie pushing her body in as close as possible, gaining every inch of comfort Chloe was able to give while she cried her eyes out.

Beca glanced over to Jesse and Luke; the sentimental moment between the mermaids was almost too much for her heart to handle. They were giving her the same look she was giving them and that look was they should probably leave soon before the Lurkers find them. She also knew that breaking up such a moment, especially with Stacie being a ticking time bomb and pushing her the wrong way would result in threatening Beca's life, she couldn't find the words to say something.

It seemed like from the boat crash with her friends, then almost getting eaten by Chloe and her sisters, there was a silver lining when all the mermaids beat the curse and formed human legs. All that was left to do was find a way off this island, or at least some civilization to help get them off and they'd be golden.

Golden with a new life for the mermaids.

Golden with a new future for them all.

Golden away from all the curses and obligations they had as mermaids in their own kingdom.

But by the looks of it now, it seemed like their luck was running out.

* * *

It took a lot longer than Beca originally intended, which was unsettling knowing what was after them, but the group finally set forth on their mission to get off this island once Stacie was able to calm down. She wasn't at her best-Hell, she wasn't even at her worse, but she agreed to continue moving forward, no matter how bad she just wanted to sit there, devastated about her lost, not bothering to care what would happen if she stayed.

Beca and Chloe where the point of the pack as they walked around the trails of the forest; Luke and Jesse came up behind them while Stacie fell behind, slugging her lifeless body to keep up. The weather, for the most part was clear; clouds were still covering up the sky, preventing any sunshine to light the forest and the post rain gave a thick, humid blanket of air to breathe in, which increasingly got worse the deeper they fell into the forest.

A minor pit stop away from the ocean was necessary now that they've been walking for a solid two, maybe three hours and have yet to find anything that sparked their interest on getting off the island. Other than gigantic fucking bugs, exotic birds and a shit ton of trees were on the map so far for them, nothing else helpful, that is. What would be helpful and what they really needed was some fresh water to keep their energy up and some much needed down time off their feet to ease the sore muscles due to marching along dirt and logs like a bunch of ants.

Now _that_ sounded like paradise right about now as Beca stepped hard on her twentieth stick that basically almost stabbed straight through her shoes and punctured her skin.

Luckily for them, Chloe and her extreme hearing was able to pick up a nearby waterfall streaming in the distance and lead the group in the general direction of where she heard it coming from. Making it there, Beca was more than relieved to be greeted with the fresh scent of water and the chill breeze from the turquoise pond rippling underneath the tiny waterfall Chloe was mentioning earlier.

Jungle sounds were now echoing around them as it felt like they were trapped in a dome; those exotic birds chirped above in the rainforest trees, insects buzzed along the waters and moist dirt bordering the pond. It was relaxing to sit down for once with a worry that they were being chased (even though it's still very valid) and just soak in the peaceful noises that nature surrounded them with.

Everyone went their own ways from here; Jesse and Luke showered off all the blood and dirt under the waterfall while also being complete children as they splashed and messed around in the water like a couple of immature hooligans. Stacie found a secluded ledge that descended into the shallower part of the water and took a seat by herself, enjoying the space and alone time away from everyone for a bit. It was still evident in her stand offish body language that interaction with anyone right now was something she did not want to go through.

And anyone who would dare to confront her would be in for a mouthful.

 _Literally_.

Like fangs and all, so no one was taking their chances at that invetiable outcome.

Chloe, once her muscles and bones healed from the rough beating it just endured took a dip in the water for herself to clean her body, as well, while Beca went adventuring around the waterfall to find the smallest hints of clues, or passageway around the forest that looked promising enough to lead them to civilization.

What she found though has been the same thing they have been walking around with for the past hours. It was like one giant, green maze of just trees, dirt and the occasional river or stream that made it seem like they were lost. The only bit she found around the forest that lets her know they weren't completely lost and just walking hopeless in circles was the patch of freshly bloomed, sunset colored hibiscus flowers layering a tree trunk bed.

Kneeling down to examine the flowers, Beca smiled warmly at the true beauty of them. Tiny little water droplets slid off each pedal, which ranged from a darker type of orange to a yellow the closer it got to the middle. She has never been one to admire and cherish the beauty of a bouquet of flowers, or even felt the need to have a fully grown garden like her grandma did when she eventually bought a house of her own.

But these had a different effect on her and even though life kinda blows a shit ton right now, these flowers gave her a sense of hope and happiness.

They also reminded her a Chloe; alluring and absolutely beautiful as far as appearance goes, but are the mightiest in all the group of flowers on the shelf, which is probably why she plucked a single, fully bloomed flower for herself to show Chloe when she got back from her walk around the forest. Figuring that the only thing the group can do as far as moving along is to walk and see where it takes them, Beca took the flower in her hand and retraced her steps back down to camp.

At the waterfall, Chloe spotted Beca cautiously stepping back down the rocks she climbed up and gave her a small smile and light hearted giggle when the brunette slipped on some moss and emitted the girliest squeal she has ever heard come out of Beca's mouth.

Of course, this earned a harsh "zip it" from Beca as she tried to play it off cool and no matter how hard she wanted to laugh, Chloe bit her tongue to the point of drawing blood not to laugh. Swimming over to meet Beca halfway, Chloe moved up her arms to rest her head on the tops of Beca's thighs as the brunette got situated on the rock ledge with her feet dangling in the water.

"Do you like flowers?" Beca asked, smiling at the image of Chloe leaning her head on her legs like a dog begging for food would. She uses her nails to comb back Chloe's hair behind her ears and chuckled warmly at the way the mermaid leaned her face into the touch, silently begging for more.

Chloe's hair is exceptionally redder now that it drying and it makes the icy blue color in her eyes _pop_ that much more, which by one look is considered weaponizing to Beca. Hidden underneath them-though its major progress from before- was sadness, so much of it that it broke Beca's heart all over again seeing her girlfriend so broken.

Correction, _bent_ , not broken.

"The ocean only really has seagrass, kelp and a ton of different algae, which aren't the most appealing," Chloe said through a heavy sigh, her turquoise colored nails drumming along Beca's skin. "So no… I don't _think_ so?" she said this like a question, tugging a smaller laugh from Beca at her adorable confusion. Oh she can't wait to show Chloe the real world and all that comes with it.

She picked up the flower placed next to her on the rock that she plucked from the forest earlier and gave the medium size orange plant to Chloe, who's eyes lightened up immediately. The mermaid took the flower and studied every inch as she twirled it between her fingers, smile doubling in size when she averted her eyes away and back up to Beca's.

"Just kidding, I love flowers," Chloe corrected, cheeky smile saying it all. "It's beautiful," she gushed and at that moment, Beca took back the flower (Chloe gave only a brief pout when it was taken from her hands) and with the little bit of stem left, snuck it through Chloe's hair to hang above the mermaid's ear.

"You're beautiful." If Beca's words didn't show how much she meant this, the way she was looking at Chloe like she was the only girl left in the world sure as Hell did the trick.

Chloe's a piece of artwork, Beca concluded. Everything about Chloe; her mesmerizing eyes and gleaming smile that was brighter than the sun. Chloe had gorgeous, bronze skin that shimmered in the day and night. Beca always thought the ocean was the most beautiful in its own hypnotizing way, but that's only because of what hid within the cerulean blue water that no one ever saw was the one thing that gave the ocean all its beauty.

She knows it was true because the first time she saw Chloe her first thoughts were, " _holy shit, that's a pretty face,"_ and the more she got to know the mermaid, the prettier Chloe got-even when she thought it wasn't possible.

Beca swallowed the dry lump in throat while she was busy admiring every structure, dip and twist in Chloe's features, making sure she'd be able to paint an exact replica of her face if needed to. "I know...saying this doesn't bring her back, but I'm so sorry about Aubrey." The smile Chloe generated from before morphed back into a frown at the mention of her sister and Beca almost mentally kicked herself for bringing it back up. "I know I wasn't the person she was most... _fond_ of, but I wish that someday I'll be brave enough, even if it's only in the slightest, tiniest bit, to do what she did for someone I love."

Chloe frantically shook her head. "No… don't say that." she demanded; her voice getting choked up towards the end. " _Please_ don't leave me." The shaky plea in desperation made Beca jump down into the water and as a reflex, her arms moved to wrap around Chloe, bringing the girl who was on the verge of tears in closer with a tight hug. "I-I...can't live without, Beca." This was strong enough to break the dam keeping all the tears in and when Chloe moved her face to fall in between Beca's shoulder and neck, the tears easily came pouring out.

Beca held on tightly as Chloe cried softly; she whispered soft things into dampened red hair and placed kisses all over to assure the mermaid she was going nowhere unless she needed too. And of course, only if Chloe would be going with her. She rubbed soothing circles over Chloe's shaking form until the crying subsided and she pulled her face away, brushing at all the shed tears scattered along her flushed cheeks.

"I'm sorry I keep crying all these non happy tears," Chloe apologized in her groggy and wet voice, but Beca didn't know why she felt the need to. To allow her word and make sure that Chloe knows it was okay to cry and she shouldn't be sorry, Beca kissed the wet streams along the mermaid's cheeks, earning a small giggle when she placed a feathered kiss just above Chloe's nose.

Beca cupped Chloe's face with her hands and avoided bending the flower still caught in Chloe's ear. "You've kept me safe- _protected_ me from all this...crazy shit going on and took care of me when I was injured. Now...it's my time." Thumbs dragged across Chloe's cheeks to vacuum up any wetness left over from the tears. "Let _me_ take care of _you_."

And that was exactly what Chloe did when she found herself crumbling back into Beca's arms, releasing the last bit of tears she had left to cry until she was sure they were all gone. Beca used every bit of love she had for the girl in the embrace, holding Chloe's body as tight as she could without delivering any pain, or discomfort but just enough strength to let Chloe know she wasn't going anywhere.

Once Chloe's crying died down, they fell back into small talk; Beca told Chloe the origin of the hibiscus flower, where they are mostly found and what they mean. She told Chloe that hibiscus flowers were more of the feminine group of flowers, usually meaning the perfect wife, or woman. In Victorian times, giving a hibiscus to someone meant that they appreciated the other person's raw beauty, which both applied to Chloe.

Beca mentioned that the main reason she brought back the flower was to not only show Chloe a new piece of land similar to the coconuts, but mostly because the reddish, orange color on the peddles reminded her of the mermaid's majestic hair color.

And now with the flower sitting delicately in Chloe's hair, the plant almost blended perfectly in.

After some time, Chloe was swimming on her back while Beca had her hand placed under the water and on Chloe's lower back to keep her floated above the water. Now that she didn't have her tail anymore, swimming was like foreign activity to do, like a newborn calf trying to walk for the very first time and still not the easiest thing to do in the book. Beca guided the redhead around the pond in circles; the water didn't run up that high, only up to Beca's neck which still allowed her to stand both feet firmly on the pond's floor.

Every once in awhile, she'd think that Chloe got the hang of it as her legs kicked in a rhythmic pattern up and down through the water, but as soon as Beca removed her hands from Chloe's back, she'd freak out, scream bloody murder and start flailing her arms around like a crazy woman, then in the process, swallow up a bunch of water that she'd soon start hacking up, making Beca clench at her stomach from laughing so hard.

Now and far less scarier and more enjoyable, Chloe had her arms hooked up around Beca's neck while she was carried through the water bridal shower style and under the waterfall where Beca took them. The space was tiny; it barely gave them any room to move around, unlike their home cave on shore, but the black rocks and heavy sound of the water splashing on them was relaxing and the fresh water smell was refreshing.

Plus, alone time with Beca was always enjoyable, no matter how tight and claustrophobic the space was. God knows she needed the little bit of time to be happy and not spend every waking second down her own throat, blaming herself for Aubrey's death like she had been doing all this time.

" _God_ , what I would do for a nice hot shower right now," Beca drawled as she kept her head underneath the waterfall so it could rinse and massage her scalp. Chloe watched intently, biting her bottom lip at the angel she was at to get a clear and darn good view of the way Beca's neck flexed as she moved and the sharp outline of her structured jaw.

Beca retracted her head from the raining water and used the hand not keeping Chloe up to comb through her newly heavy hair, pushing it back and out of her face.

A dark red smudge on the back of Beca's neck caught Chloe's attention and she reached down into the water they were swimming in to splash some of it on top. Using her fingers, she cleaned off all the red until Beca's neck was as good as new.

"Just some blood," Chloe answered when she received a confused glare from Beca as to what she could possibly be doing. "Lurkers have a nose like a shark, they can smell blood from miles away. Last thing we need is to have them find us."

Beca nodded her head, allowing Chloe to clean off her skin for any leftover blood from the injury on her arm that left a pretty bad ass scar. "Are you scared?" she asked all of a sudden, moving the both of them to the rock wall so her back could lean up against it.

Chloe twisted herself in Beca's arms, wrapping her legs around Beca's waist so they were face to face now. "No," Chloe answered without a flinch in her voice, surprising Beca by her quick response. "Living in the ocean, especially with the things humans don't see down there, you're not allowed to be scared."

"Like at all?" Beca had disbelief written all over her tone at the thought of Chloe being scared of nothing. She may be the most dangerous predator alive, but even the apex predators have a weakness in fear, don't they? "You're not even scared a little bit?"

"For you? Oh yeah. I'm _terrified_." This earned a playful jab to the ribs from Beca and Chloe squeaked out giggling, trying to guard the area from any other sudden attacks. "Just because I don't want to lose you."

"Hey now. I'm pretty feisty," Beca defended with a scoff, only slightly offended. "Not to toot my own horn but... _toot_ ," she faked a sound like a train and do the action with her arm. "Did I mention I went to jail for like… a night because I punched some guy in the face? If anything, the Lurkers should be scared of me. I'm kinda a badass," she praised with a smug click to her tongue.

"Jail?" Chloe looked at Beca sideways, but snickered sweetly at all her cocky praising. At least Beca has kept her modesty all this time stranded on some deserted island. "Is that like a house or something?"

"Only the human world's most _scariest_ house-technically a building, but whatever." Beca shrugged nonchalantly and smirked at Chloe's saucers for eyes. "Wherever they keep bad people who did bad things in your kingdom _that's_ what jail is."

"Well, in our kingdom if someone did something bad and our dad found out, they'd be executed immediately." Beca gulped hearing this reveal and it was now Chloe doing all the smirking. Okay, _maybe_ the human world and mermaid world weren't _exactly_ the same, but Chloe didn't need to know all that. Sobering up to continue her explanation, "but what I mean is now that I've experienced the feeling of losing someone I love so much, I'm terrified it will happen again."

Beca nodded her head in understanding; she felt the same way about Chloe, scared to death that she'd make the same sacrifice like Aubrey did if it meant keeping Beca alive. The thought only coiled her stomach in a sickening way.

"Being scared brings out vulnerability, which allows those who are stronger to take advantage of that. So no, I'm not scared. I'm _angry_ , and I'm going to do everything in my willpower to keep Jesse and Luke safe- to keep Stacie safe, and I'm sure as heck going to do everything I can do to keep you safe."

"I will too," Beca declared. She knew that she wasn't capable of half the things the mermaids could do, but that didn't mean she couldn't try-put everything on the line to protect everyone she loved, especially Chloe. "We are going to get off this island, _alive_ , and I'm going to take you on a type of date someone would only see in their dreams and then, I'm going to make you the best plate of breakfast in the books."

Chloe's entire body lit up with the largest and warmest smile that Beca had yet to see in the time spent with the mermaid, especially in the last few hours. It was a smile so bright and so divine that it made her breath hitch under its power. "More coconuts?" Beca laughed at the excitement laced in the words and her forehead connected to Chloe's collarbone where she placed a lingering kiss above the bone, all the way up to where her lips were ghosting against Chloe's.

"Something even _better_ than coconuts," Beca whispered across a pair of smiling lips, getting one last glance at those glowing baby blues before she gradually closed her eyes, savoring the sweet, tangy kiss when Chloe inched her face the remaining distance.

Beca didn't care if she lost her right arm in the process; her and Chloe were getting off this island no matter what happens.

And that was a promise.

* * *

After a while of laying back in the little bit of paradise they found, the group needed to get back up on their feet and venture back into the forest in the hopes of getting off this island before it's too late. Beca fell into conversation with Luke and Jesse about possible routes to take in the direction which sounded best. One of the items that was taken by Luke from the mermaid's cave was an antique compass and though it wasn't a map of the land, it did give them more of a sense of direction as to where they were heading, which was helpful.

While the humans were busy doing that, Chloe enjoyed some more time in the water, getting reconnected with the chill sensation around her newly grown limbs. She spent hundreds of years in the water and though the experience with legs she's had so far was exhilarating, the absent feeling of being constantly surrounded by water made her miss it. Made her miss swimming hundreds of miles in the pacific in minutes. Made her miss the rush she got zooming through the waves and in between other sea animals.

In all honesty, swimming-floating carelessly in the water made her miss her tail.

Over at the rocks, still in the same crunched up position with her knees holding her face, looking blankly at the waterfall without a care to the rest of the world was Stacie. Chloe already knew her sister probably preferred the time spent alone and didn't want to be bothered, but it didn't stop her from cautiously floating over, where she stood nervously to the side until her unannounced presence was felt by Stacie.

The terrifying glare she was tossed should've been enough to send Chloe off on her way, but Stacie didn't say anything after that, which was a plus in her book. It could've gone a lot worse than a glare, even though it chilled Chloe's skin by just the sight of it. It could've ended with her back against the rock wall for all she knew since she was keenly familiar with the greeting already.

Over her shoulder, Chloe saw Beca giving her a skeptical glance; one that told her she should stop what she's doing immediately before Stacie goes ballistic and ends up hurting her again. She gave Beca another reassuring nod, which was enough for Beca to continue focusing back towards what Jesse and Luke were talking about and her to scoot up closer to the ledge her sister was sitting on.

"Hi." After multiple hesitations with her voice cutting off, Chloe finally was able to muster out this simple greeting. Stacie still had on this intimidating, "don't talk to me" front, so she kept her head peeked out from the water, especially when there was visible clenching on Stacie's jaw and she ducked her face even farther underneath the water.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

There was a lot of awkward silence that started to become unbearable and Chloe figured by that it was her cue to leave, but Stacie stopped her from doing so.

"I'm sorry."

Chloe floated her head back up from the water when Stacie finally spoke. It was the first time in a long time she had heard her sister's voice- though it came out hoarse and scratchy from all the crying.

"I'm sorry," Stacie repeated and focused her attention to Chloe, with bloodshot red eyes that poured out sincerity in her words. "I'm sorry for...everything and hurting you and hurting everyone else . I-I… I just couldn't control myself."

Feeling more of a safer vibe, Chloe swam over to the ledge, closer to Stacie so she could reach out and grab her ice cold hand. Maybe it was a bold move and Stacie could snap any second, but she knew instantly when her sister was hurting and needed some comfort and she knew that she made the right decision when Stacie's fingers tightened around her own, appreciating the contact.

"Last night, when you and Beca went off to sit by the cave and Jesse and Luke rambled about absolute nonsense, Aubrey was spitting out left and right possible baby names for us when we make it off the island." Stacie bit the inside of her cheek, probably to control her emotions enough to keep the tears in. Chloe for her part stood silently in the water, listening to everything Stacie had to say.

"Of course, all of them were inspired by our ancestors; Selene, Athena, and Carman for a girl. Adonis, Loki, and Dylan for a boy." Chloe and Stacie shared a snicker at the names; it would be hilarious to see the humans try and spell out those names. "But then she settled on two that she _loved,_ Anastasia for a girl and Anastasio for a boy, where we'd call him Anthony, or Tony for short."

The girl name sparked interest in Chloe; that was Stacie's full name that only their father called her by. Aubrey always claimed to think the name was beautiful and loved every syllable of it, but once Stacie lost all respect for the man who kicked her out of the kingdom because she fell in love, she shortened and change her name to Stacie. No one, including Chloe and Aubrey ever called her by that name again, knowing what poisoned memories it brought along with it.

"I missed her the moment she was gone," Stacie admitted, shaking her head and looking down into the other palm of her hand. Inside was a saved piece of glass, or crystal that Aubrey made when she first discovered her new powers. Chloe saw her twisting around something between her fingers but it wasn't until Stacie opened her hand that Chloe got a glimpse of what it really was. Crazy to think how an item so plain for Stacie could change into the last bit of Aubrey she had to keep close to her heart.

In a way, Chloe had the same thing; her seashells that she kept around her neck and now the flower Beca gave her, which will hopefully live forever. Of course, these two things have a way different meaning for Chloe than they would for, like, Luke, or Jesse or even Stacie, just like how this this crystal is so treasured and personal for Stacie.

"I loved her _so_ much, I don't know how I'm ever going to be happy again, how I'm going to find anyone like her…"

Chloe saw the tremble in Stacie's bottom lip early, and she didn't hesitate jumping up onto the rock and enveloping Stacie in a comforting hug as the tears mixed with the water from the pond over her chest where Stacie was crying. She held Stacie until she knew the crying has stopped and only small, shaky hiccups were heard coming out from her sister.

Still to this day, Chloe thought Stacie was the strongest person she has ever met, but also, Stacie had a soft side underneath her iron amour. Maybe Stacie didn't show this vulnerable side to people very often, but it was there, and seeing it didn't for once change Chloe's opinions about her sister. She still thinks Stacie was incredibly brave and strong and courageous, but even with all these characteristics, what she found out was that even the strongest have their weak spots, and letting out a good cry didn't make Stacie weak.

It made her _human_.

Chloe pulled away and took the time to slide back down into the water, but kept hers and Stacie's fingers interlocked. "You'll find a way to be happy again because with both know it's what Aubrey would want for us. Also, you'll _never_ find a girl like Aubrey because she was one of a kind; a rare gem that we had the honors of knowing and calling apart of our family." She curved a small sympathetic smile, hoping it'd have a little effect on Stacie, even if what she got was the faintest and smallest of smiles. Surprisingly, what Stacie gave her was more than what she was expecting. Stacie gave her hope in a smile form and that was honestly all she could ever ask for.

"I know it's not the one thing you want to hear right now, but I think the boys want to get a move back on our feet, look deeper in the forest," Chloe explained as she watched Stacie shake off all her tears and took in sequence deep inhales and exhales to regain her composure.

Being right, all Stacie gave was a firm head nod and directed her attention back to watch the waterfall. Taking that as the cue to leave and see what the next plan of action was, Chloe attempted to swim away, but something being caught around her feet prevented her from doing so.

A fluorescent growling blue color surrounded her in the water she was standing in, and caused quite the show from everyone watching from the rocks. Beca was the first to make it to her side, swimming and basically teleported until supporting arms wrapped around her lower back. The blue hue in the water made it impossible to see anything underneath, but expecting the same pair of human legs she has been accompanied with the past day and finally getting use to, she saw something that sucked all the air from her body and almost made her pass out.

And that something was _very_ large, _very_ scaly and _very_ fish like and most importantly, _very_ inhuman.

"Jesus Christ!" Luke exclaimed from the rocks once the water cleared up and he was able to look right pass the clear blue water and onto what was attached to Chloe's upper half. "Jesse, check this out, mate!"

From where Jesse was at tinkering around with something on his spear him and Luke carried around, he ran out to the spot where Luke was standing and caught a glimpse for himself out in the pond's water. "Is that-"

"Your tail?" Beca finished off Jesse's petrified sentence, equally as stunned as Chloe felt and also at the same level of confusion.

Initially at the sight of her newly grown tail that looked _identical_ to the one she had before the whole potion deal thing that went down and dissolved it away was to freak out, scream, and talk herself through not crying again in front of Beca, because that would hit a whole new stage with pathetic in her book and she wasn't going to let that happen.

When she said that she missed her tail that didn't mean that she wanted it back. It just meant that….well….that she _missed_ it for crying out loud. She missed her tail like she missed starfishes and seashells and her dolphin friends, not the type of miss that would cause her to go insane if she weren't to get it back immediately.

_Oh no._

What if that's why her tail; her _big_ glimmering, ocean blue mermaid tail is back? Back because she had that one little moment of missing its form and all it gave to her and the sea Gods brought it back to her, along with the curse that would turn her into fish fry?

_Oh my crabs, that's even worse!_

Right before Chloe was allowed to have her mental breakdown, Beca prevented that from happening when she claimed that something about this whole situation wasn't right. Then, with a pointing finger, she ordered Stacie to jump in the water, which of course wasn't an easy task to accomplish without some bumps along the way.

"Why?" Stacie fought, scrunching her face in a way that screamed she wasn't in the mood, nor wanted to get wet right now.

Beca let out an exasperated sigh; one that sounded like she expected it, but also sounded like she was onto something. " _Please_...just trust me."

A pregnant pause from Stacie came first as she pondered her options, scanning the perimeter and saw that for everyone else waiting, she was front and center under the spotlight. It was her turn to let out a heavy sigh as she threw off her mesh black sarong to the corner of the rock that was tied at her hips, leaving her only in the navy blue bikini she was wearing. Graciously sliding into the pond feet first and trying not to step on anything rough or sharp on the stones covering the floor, Beca's eyes were glued that entire time to Stacie's legs.

"What now?" Stacie threw her hands up, not in the slightest way amused that one, she was in the water and two, people's attention were on her like a dog walking on its hind legs.

Chloe watched fascinated at whatever it was that Beca was so desperately trying to prove to an irritated mermaid who was seconds away from blowing. She just got Stacie to crack smile not too long ago; a very _faint_ small but still one of her best achievements, but now, thanks to Beca, her sister looked like she was going to rip someone's head off again.

Not wanting to deal with the wrath of Stacie, "Bec-"

"Wait," Beca cut Chloe off, eyes still fixated at Stacie's lower half. Obeying orders, Chloe dropped whatever she was about to say, but eventually it came sparking back up when literally nothing was happening to Stacie. Also, there happened to be a more serious problem going on that had replaced her set of human legs with a tail, which completely fell under the category of being _way_ more important than whatever it was Beca thought would happen.

"Beca," Chloe tried again, grabbing Beca's hand under the water in attempt to pull her attention away from Stacie and onto her.

"Chlo, look," Beca announced, causing Chloe to follow her line of sight into the water where Stacie's legs were and saw a similar glowing teal color spreading around the water underneath.

"What's going on?" Stacie must have followed Chloe's and Beca's eyes down into the water and saw for herself what was happening by the worried tone present in her voice now.

No one for sure knew what was really happening to Stacie; the only person who might of knew would be Chloe, who looked just as puzzled as everyone else, so that wasn't all that helpful.

As the green glow started fading away, Chloe squeezed Beca's hand harder, not in the effort to stay afloat in the water since now she had a giant fish tail keeping her up that barely had any room to move due to its size and was practically scraping against the floor bed, but mostly because she was anticipating the grand reveal of what lays under that cloudy green film.

Once completely faded away, a chorus of gasps echoed around the pond when Stacie emerged with a fully grown mermaid tail as well, swaying underneath the water in all its glory.

Now with the clear image connected at her hips, as well as Stacie's, Chloe allowed her freak out to present itself in the most unsettling forms. "Beca, what's happening?"

As for Beca, she was still stunned, paralyzed in place while switching her focus between both tails now on either side of her body. Luke and Jesse seemed to be under the same effect while Stacie as a whole looked like she was going to throw up.

Admittedly, Chloe could also agree that throwing up didn't, nor felt like such a bad idea right this second.

"I'm not really certain but...hey, try getting out and sitting on the ledge," Beca said while guiding Chloe over to the rocks and helped the mermaid out of the water until her blue, shimmering tail was glistening under the little light shown in the clouds and water droplets were rolling of each individual scale.

All of them patiently waited again for something to happen because it seemed like Beca was onto something that could explain the potion the mermaids drank to reverse its powers. It took a little longer than what they expected, but once Chloe's tail was fully dry, the same process of sparkly, liquid goo melted directly off it into the rocks and presented the same set of two, fully working, functional pair of human legs.

"Just like I thought." Beca studied the transformation and searched around the water for Chloe's swim bottoms as fast as she could since the tailless mermaid was once again flashing the entire jungle her crotch. Finding the light blue bottoms floating above the water not too far away, she tossed them over to Chloe for her to slide on while Stacie pulled herself out of the water to join her sister on top of the rock. Beca also scavenged out Stacie's bottoms because of the inevitable change that was about to happen for her as well. "Swallowing that pearl might have cured you guys of the curse, but not all the way. By the looks of it, once you get your legs wet, it triggers something and cause you guys to switch into mermaid form again."

"Kind of like a kink in the potion ," Jesse added and Beca nodded her head. That was a perfect word to sum it up, but how to fix that kink was still a giant question mark to her.

Chloe nodded her head, her expression and body language not so tense now that she has her legs back. She also seemed a bit happy in a way to be able to have the chance to switch from legs to her tail whenever she wanted to. Talk about best of both worlds type of deal. "But...I was in the water for a while swimming with you and nothing happened, but for Stacie, she grew her tail back in minutes," came Chloe's question once she processed everything that just happened.

"That part I'm not too sure of. Maybe because you need to be a certain depth in the water to fully wet your legs and hips. I have no idea. But what I do know is that once you guys get your legs wet, your tails grow back," Beca stated with all the evidence to back up after witnessing the morph from legs to tails on Chloe and Stacie up close and personal. "It just doesn't make sense to me how the potion didn't fully work on you girls."

"Yes it does," Stacie chipped in after watching her tail do the exact same thing, going from this large, slimy scaly tail to her set of long, perfectly normal human legs. Speaking up again as she put her bottoms and sarong back on, "Maybe the whole death aspect of the curse is gone, but with Demeter still alive, the curse she put on all of us won't be fully broken until she's dead."

Okay, now that gave Beca a little bit more information. But was it enough to solve the mystery? Not yet. "So what are you saying?" Beca asked nervously but she had a gut feeling she wasn't going to enjoy the answer.

Completely ignoring Beca's question, Stacie directed her attention to Chloe, who was sitting criss cross applesauce and the showed the most confusion out of everybody. "Remember that story dad would tell us about Demeter when we were little? The one where he said _if you ever get sick of her, destroying her is a lot_ -"

" _Closer than you think_ ," Chloe finished, remembering her father's words like they were imprinted inside her head. Then, as she slowly connected the dots with her father's story and Stacie's words as to what she was implying, a light bulb in her head flashed on. "Demeter lost her daughter and wanted her back dearly. Aubrey always called our father the devil of the underwater kingdom and what do you give the devil when you want something in return?"

Stacie's face lit up with a smirk; a super creepy, but onto something smirk stretched across her mouth. " _Exactly_."

"Oh my," Chloe scoffed with disbelief, jaw hanging slack while she shook her head. "Demeter sacrificed _us_ to our dad...it all makes sense now."

"Okay, no, I still have absolutely _no_ idea what your weird sibling, or mermaid telepathy is inferring here," Beca interrupted, gesturing with her finger between all three of them and tried hard not to sound too frustrated when being pushed out of the loop. It was like she was enduring a super complicated inside joke between the mermaids and it irked her skin to get behind what it meant.

At least Jesse and Luke weren't putting together the puzzle pieces as well, which made her feel a little bit about not knowing what exactly was going on with the mermaids "ah ha!" moment going on.

Unfortunately, the answer wasn't that simple, nor that easy to explain, just like everything else they run into. Chloe and Stacie shared a quick glance before saying in unison, "we need to find our dad."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg.
> 
> Things are going to get really intense these next (and last) few chapters, my friends. Next chapter be prepared to get the in depth explanation of what the mermaids discovered, some more information about Demeter, Poseidon, the curse and their father. Also, a new character will be appearing next chap as well, which I'm super excited for! Any guesses on who it's going to be? ;) Let me know in the reviews!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, let me start off by saying how incredibly sorry I am for keeping you lovelies waiting so long! The end of the school year was rough and I was extremely busy with projects and softball. However, it is now summer and I'm back to having all the free time in the world! So, I hope you guys all enjoy this new, overdue update and don't forget to drop some reviews! The story is almost wrapping up so brace yourself for the climax of the ride :)

This was just great.

And Beca wasn't just saying this in her usual charming, sarcastic, asshole way she's notorious for, but completely in the sense of how truly _fantastic_ this news was once connecting the complicated dots scattered throughout her brain.

However, the news about possibly defeating Demeter and curing the mermaids of their curse that has shadowed them for majority of their lives was not only thrilling to her, but also left her anxious to get a head start on conquering this mission, the simple reminder of how Chloe and Stacie have been cut off of all communication with their father for years now and finding his whereabouts would leave _challenging_ as an understatement.

The possibilities of where he could be were endless; he could be living hopelessly, "kingdomless" underwater after being dethroned, and if that's the case, only Stacie and Chloe would be the ones capable of staying underwater for longer than a minute, _at most,_ and with the Lurkers hot on the group's tail, it was more than a little unsettling to think about for Beca. She already had to let go of Chloe's hand once to receive the potion from the sea witch and though she believes Chloe is hands down the strongest predator alive in the ocean, the slight tinge in thought of the mermaid possibly getting hurt with the target on her back made her feel sick to her stomach.

And if she had the choice of avoiding that route in finding their father to something more settling, such as staying on land where she could be with Chloe at all times, she'd choose that option in a heartbeat because with that option, no one gets hurt, no one gets separated with the possibility of someone _getting hurt._

The other possible option of where the king could be living was something she'd rather not think about, but the slight possibility of that same thought being true rang like a constant, poisonous bell. The king could be _dead_ , for all she knows, and she thinks that Chloe and Stacie agree with their similar puzzled glances shared between each other when Jesse and Luke bombard them with questions as to where the best part of this island would be to start looking. Not saying it's true, as of now; their father could be alive and well, healthy living somewhere on this deserted island.

Or somewhere like Greece, which is a whole other problem Beca can't help but think about and was on her knees praying that that wasn't true because if so, well they're all utterly _fucked_.

Chloe seemed to be thinking about the same type of concerns Beca had with regarding her father and dropped the big bomb as to where the group should possibly start looking if they wanted to destroy this curse for good. It wasn't like they had a cell phone and could page the mermaids' father like some AT&T commercial and even if they did, chances were that finding service would be even more of a struggle, if not _impossible_.

The plus of this situation came when Stacie brought up the connection her and Chloe have with their father, kind of like a twin telepathy gift all mermaids have when coming in contact with one another and that if in range, the connection will only get stronger and stronger. A metal detector came to mind when hearing this for Beca and since there has been no buzz, or notification from the mermaids that they were even _close_ to the King, the amount of progress that is being made to find him is sitting at zero percent.

However, when Chloe suggested that they should somehow find a way and backtrack to the ocean to look for her father; the same _goddamn_ place where they have just been attacked by an army of lurkers and even lost someone's life in the process took Beca by a whole three sixty spin. At first, she thought that Chloe was just busting everyone's buttons because Chloe was Chloe; she didn't come up with the brightest ideas to pitch in for the group and though she only meant well, some of the things she said were just plain out _delirious_.

And Beca thought that everyone agreed with this statement, but when everyone besides herself nodded their heads, agreeing to Chloe's idea, including emotionally damaged and messed up in the head, Stacie, also the smartest one out of the bunch, Beca was sure everyone has been snorting way too much salt water because what they're planning to do is straight up _insane_.

"I know it seems crazy," Chloe muttered with a lower to her eyes when the petrified look washed over Beca's face at the simple idea of going back to the ocean; the ring of fire where everything basically went to shit. "But knowing our father-though he never truly showed it- cared about all three of us." It's sweet, but does it explain fully why Chloe wants to go back? No, it doesn't. And it definitely doesn't have enough to back up the idea of going back to somewhere so dangerous. "If it's true that he loved us more than he showed, he would already be one step ahead, trying his best to locate us and make sure _we_ are safe."

Out of the blue, Beca chuckled to herself, drawing a lot of attention from around the circle. There was nothing funny about this conversation, but she didn't know what else to do to prove a point here. "That plan doesn't sound just crazy, Chloe. Going back to the beach is fucking _maniacal."_ Despite her previous chuckles that were quickly vanished and replaced by a tight clench to her jaw and grit to her teeth, Beca's voice emitted as a bark, taking back everyone in the group, including Chloe who looked as if Beca just got done kicking her puppy.

"What else are we supposed to-"

"Something else! Literally, anything else but... _that_ ," Chloe was taken back even farther when her sentence was cut off by Beca before she even got the chance to finish it. "Unless we all signed up for a death wish recently, I'm not going!" She finished with a cross to her arms, turning the opposite way of the group.

Beca knew she was being unapproachable about the whole situation, practically throwing a temper tantrum in front of everybody; her friends, her _girlfriend_ , and she knew that her voice was raising in a way that she really couldn't lower no matter how hard she tried. That's what she did whenever something didn't go her way, or when she'd rather opt for anger instead of showing everyone the real emotion she was feeling.

And that emotion was _fear_.

Fear of losing someone she cares about.

Fear of losing Chloe.

She hated this defense mechanism about herself, especially seeing everyone's expressions on their faces as they blinked with caution, even breathed hesitantly, like she was a time bomb about ready to explode. What she hated even more was that Chloe, the brightest bit of light she had in her black tunnel of a life for the first time ever seemed almost too terrified to speak, too scared to even _touch_ her.

And she hated to even admit it to herself, which is why she covered it with rage and sarcasm, but what she really needed was some comfort.

Someone to hold her, tell her everything was going to be okay, even if it might not be true, but leave it to her to push away anyone before they have the chance to even try to comfort her like Chloe wanted to do, but looks too scared to even look at Beca, which physically _kills_ her to see.

Unspotted animal noises around the rainforest flooded the groups' silence once Beca's little outrage was finished, leaving an awkward pause around the circle as they thought to themselves other routes to go about this scenario since Beca was all against going back to the beach. It didn't leave them with a lot of options, but hopefully it would bring out something less suicidal and something that would avoid bringing back the memories of when Aubrey ended her life to save them all.

The wound was still fresh, and going back would just be rubbing salt in the cut.

Surprisingly, Chloe took her chance and bravely reached out an arm to snake underneath one of Beca's, hooking their arms at the elbows and leaned her head over the closest shoulder she could find.

Instantly, Beca crumbled under the touch, under the salty smell of Chloe's damped hair and under the faint brush of fingertips she felt on the inside of her bicep. She leaned her cheek over the top of Chloe's head, but not without placing a soft kiss to the red, unable to project the words that explained how relieved she was to soak into Chloe's embrace and how embarrassed she was that she allowed her anger to get the best of her.

And also to apologize for raising her voice when Chloe did absolutely nothing wrong except voice her ideas to the group, as she and everyone else was expected to do.

"Did we just have our first fight?" Chloe mumbled after a while of them just sitting there in silence, continuing to draw invisible patterns on the inside of Beca's arm.

Releasing a wet chuckle and moving her arms to circle around Chloe's upper frame, Beca shook her head, the anger fading away as she held onto the one person who could make her feel like a brand new person; a better, less angry type of person. "No." She placed another kiss that lasted longer over Chloe's hair, her next set of words coming out muffled from where she kept her lips on the side of the mermaid's head. "Just me being stupid."

Chloe backed away from Beca's grip, her expression almost offended when they locked eyes as she explained with all seriousness that Beca was everything but _stupid_. Hormonal and more on the moody side, yes, but definitely not stupid.

Beca was already making her way to apologize; the words barely leaving her mouth before Chloe was shushing her, shaking her head to decline the apology and Beca honestly didn't understand how someone as prickly as her ended up with someone as understanding and sweet as Chloe.

Half the time she believed she didn't deserve someone as special as Chloe.

It was a no brainer that she was an asshole and showed this quality more times than she would like, so why have Chloe deal with all of that?

"I know I shouldn't be saying this, or even be encouraging it since I lost someone close to me back there, but Chloe is one hundred percent right," Stacie chipped in, her voice heavy as it sounded like there was a knot caught in her throat. Beca already knew that mentioning the topic of Aubrey was high on Stacie's list of things to avoid and she _hated_ herself for bringing it up, knowing just how hard it was for Stacie to talk about the blonde.

Not exactly since she was not walking around in Stacie's shoes, but she knew enough to assume that bringing up someone who gave up their life to save someone else, that someone also being a person she loved was an excruciating pain to feel as the memories washed back in.

Beca gave Stacie apologetic eyes that were only returned with a curt nod and the absence of eye contact, guilt hitting her like a ton of bricks.

Deciding to go about her words differently this time, "going back is dangerous, Chlo," she warned with easy eyes, not wanting to scare Chloe or anything, or make her feel bad about her suggestion. The beach has trouble written all over it and she knows it's too soon to bring it up-which is why she doesn't, _verbally_ , but the last time they were set on that beach, they lost family, someone close to them. Having to go through that again is an experience Beca never wants to face for the rest of her life. Chancing to lose another life was just too risky in her book. "What we need to do is find a way to get off this... _fucking_ place."

Chloe heard Beca mutter the profanity under her breath and moved her hand to give a comforting squeeze at one of Beca's when their hands intertwine. The touch eased Beca, a lot like everything Chloe does, even if it's just a simple touch, or the smallest of glances. She just wished that she could be just as brave and courageous as Chloe was during times like these instead of dwelling on the negatives and not coward her way through any obstacle present in her life. It's not the proudest thing to admit, but for one she has mastered the quality expertly.

"I can't lose you," Beca's words were barely above a whisper, but she can tell Chloe was able to pick them up when the grip around her hand tightens.

She's thankful that Chloe was able to hear her, though her volume in voice showed otherwise. She wanted to scream it from the rooftops, if she's being honest, but a bubble, or knot in her throat formed every time when she thought about the possibility of this being true. Fear would be a perfect excuse as to why she can't bring herself to admit it louder than a whisper; she **feared** the possibility of losing someone she loves.

And she was here to admit, even with the amount of time she has been on this beach that she is absolutely in love with Chloe, so in love with the girl that the thought of her getting hurt is unbearable to handle:

"I _won't_ lose you," she declared louder this time, vision becoming glassy from the stinging tears as she found the only strength she had to stare down at hers and Chloe's connected hands.

Sympathetic eyes from all around the circle were felt and were usually accompanied by an uncomfortable feeling brought along with it that Beca _hated,_ but she couldn't find it her to care, not with everything going on and the powerful stare Chloe had targeting her, making her feel like the most important thing in Chloe's life. Weak would be a good word for how she felt at the moment, feeling the welding tears building up in her eyes and the constant wishing she repeated numerous amounts of times in her head just to be back home in Santa Cruz, with Chloe wrapped up safely in her arms as she taught the girl all the _good_ things this world has to give.

It may not be a lot, but what the world has brought to her-even though it involved more injuries than she would like and a broken boat- was Chloe; the greatest gift she has ever received.

That's her one wish.

To be safe.

Problem and threat free.

Enjoying the rest of her life with the one person she wants to explore her future with.

Explore all the old and new things.

And do them all with Chloe.

She wants to be _home_.

Now that was something that never happened.

A week ago she would scream at the top of her lungs to be anywhere _but_ home. Funny how so much things have changed since then.

"Weren't you the one who told me that the second we are going to make it off this island, you're going to take me out on a date and cook me the best plate of breakfast right after?" Chloe's voice tore Beca's focus away from their conjoined hands sitting over her lap and centered it to the twitched smile appearing at the corners of her lips. Not a second goes by that Beca doesn't conclude to herself that Chloe is the most beautiful, living thing this world has to offer, but now, as big blue eyes stared lovingly into her's, making it feel as if they're the only two left on this planet, Chloe's pure, raw beauty was almost painful to look at.

Despite her current emotions hitting her like a hurricane, she mustered up the strength to curve a smaller smile, unable to resist Chloe's curve at the corner of her mouth. "I can make a pretty mean stack of pancakes," she mumbled with a shrug and saying the words out loud reeled out a bigger smile from her lips; a type of smile that Chloe mirrored instantly, but her's by far more adorable with the way her eyes crinkled with utter happiness and a sense of relief.

"I have to back her up on this one. Bec's pancakes are a mouthful of fluffy _heaven_ ," Jesse-who Beca momentarily forgot was even present- spoke up, adding to the conversation. Luke even gave his two cents and nodded his head when Jesse spoke, mouth practically watering at the mental image of freshly made pancakes from back home.

"You know I don't know what those are, but I can only assume they're _amazing."_ The shimmer in Chloe's eyes never once faded and her smile seemed to only be doubling by the second, causing Beca to forget about what they were even talking about before the topic of pancakes and Chloe's megawatt smile that could cure cancer. "I'm not going _anywhere_ ," Chloe declared sincerely, her voice shifting back into a more serious tone. "And neither are you, _okay_?"

There was a "but" floating somewhere in the back of Beca's head to respond with, in the back of her throat, but it seemed like all her doubts, worries and fears about going back to shore were all washed away by the power of one simple, loving smile only Chloe could produce.

And the fact that that smile was produced only for her makes her feel more than all gooey inside.

"Better make enough for me, too," Stacie quipped in last minute. Though her features screamed like she was still having a hard time without her girlfriend- her _family_ here, she was still able to muster up a smaller sized smile, joining the moment as a group.

Beca cocked out her jaw in protest. "I don't know, Stace. You almost killed me not too long ago..." she dangled with her signature smirk remaking an appearance, already feeling ten times better about the situation than before.

"Yeah and I'll do it again if I'm not promised some of these ' _pancakes_ ' when we get off this island." The threat was clear to be taken as a joke, but at Stacie's deadly abilities and short temper to most things, Beca realized that her best option here wasn't to test out her luck.

Gulping quietly to herself without Stacie noticing, "noted." This time, she curved a faker smile in effort to hide her own personal fear when it came to Stacie and her freakish mermaid powers.

Chloe, who seemed to be keenly drawn to everything about Beca and hasn't took her eyes off her yet swooped in, stealing the brunette's attention from Stacie by placing a few, soft pecks to Beca's lips. Falling fast under Chloe's ability to make her forget about anything else in this world by the simple touch of her lips, she kissed the mermaid back, equally as soft until their lips mirrored over each other, turing upward into the cheesiest smiles known to man with their teeth clanking together.

After, it wasn't long until like and Jesse were teasingly joking about them getting a room and telling them to keep their hormones in their swim trunk before the kissing stopped-much to Beca's dismay since kissing Chloe has always made her feel safe and protected, with nothing bad to think about and blocking out all the negatives. Perhaps things weren't okay for the group now and Beca knew that until they get off this island, all their lives are in danger.

But what she also knew was that having Chloe by her side made her feel indestructible- _invincible_ , like nothing could ever get in her way.

And she'd like to keep it that way and if she has any control over the outcome, she'll make sure it happens.

* * *

As much as she wanted to avoid backtracking back to the beach, Chloe had a valid point, which was if her father actually cared about his daughters like she believed he did, the first place he would look would be their home. There would be some time, a lot of traveling the distance, but if they were all smart, they'd stay put instead of finding themselves deeper in the forest where the King's ability to roam land would be impossible. So with that, the group packed up their things and started following their footsteps in the previous direction they already came from and were currently on the hunt for some food and water for a much needed pit stop.

Other than the extreme humidity, the monster size bugs to fly into every hole on your body and the constant, annoying chirping sounds of birds echoing through the area, the rainforest was a piece of nature that really was breathtaking. All the leaves were incredibly green to the point of them looking fake and they also had a freshly watered scent to them and all the exotic flowers brought a unique, colorful look to the scene. The sounds of the waterfall could still faintly be heard, and definitely the smell of the water and chill it brought with it was still shadowing them from miles away.

Beca was so use to adventuring the ocean when she surfed, never really enjoying the land part compared to what she thought about the ocean where everything was anonymous. And though that realization should be scary, the thought of never really knowing for sure what's really underneath you while you swim above waters was thrilling to her. She guessed it was the same with the forest in a way; the trees were gigantic and covered most of the sky. Looking up, she couldn't really tell what it was above her, similar to the ocean when she was on her board and looked down into the cerulean blue and saw _nothing_.

She separated briefly from the group to take a look around the forest to find some food for them to munch on during their break. Luke and Jesse took charge at a nearby river streaming somewhere unknown, hoping to spot out some fish they could cook while Stacie searched one area of the forest for fresh water and Chloe searched the other half of the forest for some fruit to eat, hopefully all safe and not poisonous.

Eating has now became a _must_ on their list of things to do due to how much they've been hiking around for miles now. Exhaustion, sleep deprived, lethargic and hungry were all mutual feelings the group was experiencing. Keeping their energy levels up would be the smartest thing to do, not really knowing what and when they'll run into trouble and would need all the strength they can get when fighting off the lurkers. Plus, Beca, Jesse and Luke don't have the same abilities and genes as the mermaids do and were more _mortal_ , to say the least.

You know, with being human and all.

Beca was in the process of searching some branches on the ground to find some fruit when she heard this piercing, high pitched screech come from the opposite side of the forest; a sound that was definitely new to hear and it was her name being screamed out by a certain voice she recognized in a heartbeat.

Initially, her heart sunk to the pit of her stomach when she sprinted over to the other end of the forest where Chloe's voice came from. She tried to push away the images of her making it there too late while trying to save Chloe from whatever it was hurting her and that by the time she got there, Chloe would be gone, injured, or at the worst possible scenario, _dead_. It makes her want to vomit thinking about it, but the uncomfortable, nauseating twist in her stomach didn't keep her from stopping as she ran as fast as she could until a head of red hair was seen half way up a tree, eyes milky white with a full mouth of fangs out in the open as a defense mechanism to something unknown.

She was refreshed to see Chloe still in one piece, without any injury in sight and definitely _far_ from being dead, but she can't help but be confused as to what has deserved the dangerous alter ego of the mermaid when for the most part throughout their journey, they have been alone. Whatever it was, however, seemed to be pretty small in size, almost close to non existent when Beca tried her hardest to pin point exactly what Chloe was freaking out about.

"Chloe?" Beca called out to the mermaid who's full attention was glued to the top of the tree and making not effort to pay Beca's appearance any attention. "Chlo!" So, she tried again, hoping to get Chloe's attention away from whatever it was that she was looking at somehow. "What are you doing?!"

" _That_!" Chloe hissed, but without breaking her focus in the tree as she tried climbing her way up the bark, but ended up failing miserably when her nails dragged all her weight down the trunk.

From where Beca was standing, she couldn't exactly see what Chloe was talking about, so she moved closer to the mermaid, carefully placed a comforting hand on Chloe's back to ease off some of the sudden rage and took a look up the tree for herself. It was only a matter of time before the mermaid used her special abilities to burn the tree down, or use some crazy hurricane type wind to blow it over, so she needed to act fast before any of that happened.

Not seeing anything at first and only briefly thinking her girlfriend had a few bolts loose in her head due to the lack of nutritional goods her body had been declined, something incredibly small sitting in on one specific tree branch moved abruptly, and without having enough reaction time to dodge what was falling, down fell an object from the height to hit Beca square in the forehead with a hollow " _clunk_."

" _Fuck_!" she groaned in pain and was pretty certain that it was only the matter of seconds before she sported a gnarly sized goose egg on her head. Cupping the throbbing area, she scanned her hand for any signs of blood and luckily it didn't fall from a high enough height, or hit soft skin like her eyebrow to cut the flesh.

It still hurt like Hell and when she scanned the ground where her feet were and saw a medium sized, banana looking fruit that wasn't there before, she understood why the pain was increasing by the second, same with the extra head she felt protruding from her skull.

Chloe emitted a monstrous growl, her alpha, protective nature making an appearance besides her like a well trained dog and if her skull wasn't throbbing at the pain of whatever it was that fell from a pretty impressive height, she'd laugh it off at how ridiculously adorable her girlfriend was being. She returned one of her hands to rubbed soft circles on Chloe's lower back, desperately needing Chloe to relax before she sets the forest on fire with her powers.

Being so use to Chloe's radiant, upbeat and beaming personality, it was safe to admit that her protective side was another one of her favorites.

And also it was damn right sexy as Hell, for lack of better words.

Taking her chances again and _praying_ to God that nothing else falls from the tree unless she wanted to be concussed, she looked back up with squinted eyes and was able to catch a small animal sitting in the tree unlike before when she saw nothing. Once her blurry vision cleared up and she was able to create a clearer image on the animal, she kneeled down to examine the object that previously just broke her face, which happened to be a inga fruit and she realized that sitting up in the tree was a squirrel monkey, an animal whose favorite thing to eat happened to be this specific type of fruit.

Realizing that the both them were far from being endangered and it was just a harmless, fourteen inch, two pound little monkey that almost popped several blood vessels in Chloe's neck as her anger brimmed from overflowing, Beca brushed the tips of her fingers together, gesturing for the monkey to come down the tree to a (mostly) friendly environment where it was safe.

"Hey little guy," she cooed sweetly and lifted up the half eaten fruit to the monkey above her, hoping to get him to come down. "Think you dropped something."

"More like _stole_ something," Chloe barked and aggressively snatched the fruit out from Beca's hands before chucking it up to where the monkey was squeaking quietly, completely amused by the whole thing. The animal might be the cutest thing Beca has ever seen but damn was it a little asshole. "What is that thing, Beca?!"

Beca was unable to keep in a laugh seeing Chloe so riled up by such an innocent and highly adorable creature-that even if wanted to-meant no harm. If she hadn't already known, she'd assume Chloe just encountered a fairly large spider, or something equally as terrifying as those eight legged freaks. Now _those_ things deserved a flamethrower, or atomic bomb dropped on them at first sight, and definitely a mouth full of razor sharp, siren fangs.

She was always quite the fan of the monkey group; gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees. Those tiny, monkeys that wrap around your finger like a ring, pygmy marmoset, or the howlers, which may or may not make the most terrifying noises known to man. Her all time favorite, however, was the squirrel monkey as she always wished to meet one close up.

Of course, she never thought that meeting one of these little guys would actually come true, but never did she imagine meeting a mermaid who she'd eventually catch the hots for and would sometime later become her girlfriend either. Now that was a three sixty spin that took her completely off guard. This though, was a close runner up.

Continuing her motions to get the monkey to crawl down the tree, "Squirrel monkey, babe," Beca finally answered through a smile as she watched Chloe glare up at the innocent monkey squeaking softly to itself. Her body also shivered at the usage of the uncharacteristic pet name she referred to Chloe as and already enjoyed the feeling that came with it. "Aren't they cute?"

Just as she said this, another fruit was knocked down from somewhere inside the branch the monkey was sitting on, this time knocking Chloe directly on the head with the same, unopened fruit and Beca barely had enough time to grab ahold of Chloe's ankle to yank her back down to ground level as she tried to climb up the trunk of the tree with her fangs exposed and invisible white foam oozing from the corners of her mouth.

Thank God mermaids were only dangerous in the water and on land, they were _awful_ climbers.

" _Whoaaa_ , easy tiger," Beca chuckled in between trying to calm the mermaid down, the short temper definitely a trait she picked up from her sister, Stacie. "I'm going to need you to _not_ devour that adorable thing up in the tree and reel back in those razor blades," she teased, easing a soft kiss over Chloe's fuming skin above her cheek.

Eventually, Chloe's eyes flashed back to those glowing blues that Beca loved so much and her fangs retracted back into her mouth, but the anger directed towards the tiny animal was still visible between the grit in her now normal set of teeth. "That thing is _not_ adorable, Beca! It stole the food I was gathering for all of us! If anything that little thing is _inconsiderate_!"

"Technically, you were stealing fruit from _him_ ," Beca spoke carefully when the anger directed towards the animal was now shifted to her. "Don't give me that look." she warned, trying her best to be stern about it, but ended up cracking a smile when the corner of Chloe's lips twitched upwards. Looked like someone who praised and held herself up on being so high and mighty had a weakness for an irresistible grin.

Beca didn't blame her, though. She had a smile worth millions, no bragging intended.

"Inga feuillei, also known as the pacay, or the ice-cream bean tree," Beca explained as she searched for the half open fruit that Chloe had previously thrown in attempt to hit the monkey and ripped open the seal before pulling out a small cube of the white seed hidden on the inside. Thankfully, the monkey has already done the tough part with cracking open the thick shell and made it more accessible for her to slit open the rest, revealing a cotton ball cover over the seeds that lay underneath.

"The fuzzy white part is suppose to taste like vanilla ice-cream and like you're eating a cherry, you would spit out the seed that is in the middle since that part is non-edible."

Chloe keenly watched Beca peeled down the middle of the fruit and pull out a piece for her to try. Ify on whether or not she should consume something that has fur on it and was apparently _extremely_ sticky, Chloe gave her a hesitant glance, but Beca quickly assured her that eating it was harmless as it had been proven to be quite delicious and also she was willing to try it with her.

"Think of it like the coconut," Beca added with a smile, dropping the cube size piece into the palm of Chloe's hand and pulled out a piece for herself.

If she remembered correctly, Chloe almost passed out in pure bliss at how insanely delicious the coconut was when she first tried it and she expected the same reaction with this exotic and rare type of fruit that tasted identical to vanilla ice cream.

Maybe if Chloe was familiar with the dessert, she'd be more open to trying the fruit, even with its strange appearance, which was another thing to add to the list of things to try once they made it back to the real world.

It's not everyday she runs into a ice-cream bean tree and because of that, she needed to take advantage of her opportunities to try something new since who knew when the next time will be.

On the count of three, her and Chloe both stuck the white fruit into their mouth and chewed around to detach the pulp from the seed to work around and get all the experience from the flavor. Instantly once the fruit connected with her tastebuds, the vanilla flavor exploded inside Beca's mouth and she couldn't help but think she was taking a spoonful of her favorite Ben and Jerry's ice cream. People really weren't messing around when they gave this fruit it's well known nickname.

Chloe's eyes doubled in size as she finished eating the skin and spat out the black seed that was stuck in the middle. "Oh wow! That's really good!" she gushed with equal amount of surprise and Beca was already working her way to pull out another piece for her girlfriend that seemed to transform into a little kid trying every flavor at a candy store.

She handed over the piece she plucked out, muttering something under her breath that went like, "don't underestimate my well known knowledge about fruits," when it's remembered how hesitant Chloe was about trying the seed.

"How do you know so much about all this stuff?!"

Beca chuckled at how Chloe tried to say this through a pretty large mouthful of the fruit and it barely came out as actual words and not just muffled noises. By now, it shouldn't surprise her that Chloe still manages to get cuter and cuter every second, even when she thought it was impossible. "I don't...really have an answer for that."

Which was valid. It's not like she purposely landed herself on the Discovery channel every chance she got during her free time after school and her days out surfing, or working on her music. Half the time she didn't even realized how much nature and what it had to bring fascinated her so much until she snapped herself out of the little trance she always found herself getting trapped in while being so engrossed in Animal Planet and the deadly creatures of the sea.

Now though, she has many conspiracy theories as to what's true about mother nature and what they don't show on television, nor really have enough information to back it up as she is a prime example of someone who has encounter something mythical when everyone believed they were just urban legends. She also can't help but wonder if the Loch Ness monster, or giant killer squids were true as well, since mermaids, ancient Gods from Greek Mythology and sea witches like Ursula are in fact _real_.

It was like her whole life has been a lie and she doesn't know what and what not to believe anymore.

Being too distracted on Chloe as she soaked in all the flavor the fruit could give her and thinking it was the cutest thing she has ever seen, Beca missed the extra audience to the scene she had drawn in and didn't realize that right above her head was the same monkey crawling down the trunk cautiously, making sure that her and Chloe wouldn't attack it. She reassured the monkey with some more gentle calls while also double checking that Chloe wasn't seconds away from pouncing.

When the monkey felt fully comfortable with Beca and quickly took a piece of fruit she held out in her fingers inches away from the monkey's face, reeling the monkey in closer to feed, it ate around the seed, squeaking contently and discarded the seed before climbing on top of Beca's closest shoulder.

" _Don't_ ," Beca warned once again when Chloe flinched as if she was about to attack the animal for climbing on top of her. The last thing she needed was Chloe to swallow down an innocent animal for only being friendly and sweet.

"It's kind of creepy looking, Becs," Chloe muttered incredulously, studying the monkey who was crawling all over Beca's head, picking out strands of hair. The sideways look she was sporting also was extremely adorable. Kind of like a confused puppy dog that Beca just couldn't get enough of.

At first glance, Beca had to agree with this; the monkey with its big, pitch black eyes and the dark patch over its mouth with creepy little teeth poking out underneath and the insanely realistic human fingers the monkey had. For Christ sakes, they were given the nickname of "death's head monkey" with their appearance for a damn reason. They aren't the most _appealing_ mammals with first impressions, but once you get use to all these qualities and realize they're as harmless as a fly, you can't help but not fall in love with them.

"You're kinda creepy but I still think you're the cutest thing alive," Beca joked, plucking away the monkey to set it in her arms instead of allowing the thing permission to mess up her already tangled hair. She was surprised how light the animal was, and also how soft its fur happened to be. At first, she expected the fur to be more thick and tougher in a way, rough as how it looked in pictures and T.V. Definitely not as soft as it was when she trailed her nails through the coat and played with the long length of its tail.

"Because I _am_ cute," was what Chloe battled back with, holding her chin up high and smug; a comment Beca couldn't _nor_ really wanted to disagree with due to the fact that it was the God honest truth. She also caught Chloe contemplating whether or not to pet the animal, so she urged her on with a gentle smile to push her actions, bringing the monkey up closer for her to be able to reach and praying to God she doesn't hurt it.

"Don't eat him _please_ ," Beca was mostly joking about this, (kinda) but Chloe was a box full of mysteries and has already been introduced to what she was capable of. She was a walking timebomb with a temper, like Stacie, and had a mouthful of fangs sharper than a shark's. It wouldn't put it pass the mermaid to disobey everything she just said and take the head right off of the animal in a snap of a finger.

Chloe rolled her eyes at Beca's comment and closed the remaining distance away from touching the monkey. Initially, the monkey flinched away, causing Chloe to yank her hand back and give Beca a worried glance, as if she just got caught stealing cookies out of the cookie jar and might have possibly hurt the little fella. Assuring Chloe that the monkey was just timid and scared, (because the last time the animal encountered Chloe she was about ready to dig her teeth into its neck) Beca quirked up a small smile when she watched the redhead reach her hand back in.

This time, the monkey allowed all contact without flinching away. She used her nails to scratch at the top of his head and her lips curved up into a face splitting grin when the monkey licked her fingers to get rid of the remaining stickiness still present. Beca savored the image that was almost cute enough to melt her into a puddle of goo seeing Chloe bonding with the new friend they just made. She honestly didn't know how much more she could handle before she died from a cuteness overload, especially when Chloe started giggling from all the licking the monkey was doing.

"When you charged at it, it gave off a warning call to the rest of the group, which is what I heard before I came hauling ass over here. They mostly travel in large groups, which is why it's strange to see this little one all by itself," Beca explained some more useful knowledge she had about the species and continued to watch Chloe interact with the monkey.

"I think you're the smartest person I've ever met, and that's even including my grandmother who was a genius and knew everything there was to know about the seaworld," Chloe complemented without tearing her focus away from the monkey.

Beca hid her blush fairly well and appreciated the monkey for keeping Chloe's main attention to avoid the embarrassment if she were to be caught. She also didn't know who she was more focused on; Chloe or the monkey. Either way, the sight of her girlfriend experiencing yet another creation that nature has brought to them was a moment she can live in forever and made her even more excited to show Chloe the many other beauties the world has to bring to the table that she hasn't been introduced with because she's been swimming in water her whole life.

Suddenly, the monkey jumped an incredible height to latch back onto the tree before climbing its way back up the trunk and joining the other monkeys who have snuck their way into the leaves and made their appearance from her and Chloe go unnoticed.

Chloe watched all the monkeys climb and swing themselves away in awe, mesmerized by the species and Beca was so entranced by the look that she nearly almost fainted.

"Seriously, Becs. You know so much stuff-like the coconuts, this... _strange_ fuzzy fruit, the monkey and- _oh_! Even the flower!" The example sparked up on Chloe's list when she realized the hibiscus flower still happened to be caught between her ear on the side of her head, sitting diligently and nevertheless any perfect as it mixed in with the light auburn color of her hair.

Beca admired the glow that washed over Chloe's skin and the extra sense of peace that came with her signature beaming grin; the way her eyes sparkled in the most captivating ways. Perhaps, maybe introducing Chloe to new things was now her most favorite thing to do if she was rewarded with a type of smile like that every time she did it; a kind of smile that was brighter than the sun and even at times was too bright to look at.

"You made me face my fear of sharks, saved me multiple times and are basically considered my redheaded nurse," Beca listed with a small chuckle while her index finger moved to hook at the front of Chloe's sarong and pulled the mermaid closer. She squeaked at the sudden tug, but didn't dare to pull away. "I think the correct thing here to say is that you, my dear, are the bravest, most _beautiful_ creation to exist in this world."

Beca wished she could've captured the shade of pink blooming it's way to cover both sides of Chloe's cheeks, for her own personal enjoyment if wanting to see the closest thing to perfect a person could get, but also to know that _she_ was the one to cause the blushing.

Add that accomplishment to her vision board.

"Goodness, you always make me feel like I just swallowed a bucket of seaweed." Chloe shook her head timid and directed her attention to her feet, away from Beca's stare that happened to be glued to that same, enticing smile that hasn't disappeared for quite some time now, and she hoped it never did.

"Oh do I?" Was Beca's smug reply as her hands brushed along Chloe's back and roamed over all the warm, smooth skin she could drag her fingernails against that wasn't being covered by a bikini top. Chloe nodded her head, biting her lip shyly, as though she was embarrassed by her confession. Given all the confirmation she needed, "well, better get use to the feeling because it's now become a daily goal to accomplish from here on out."

Chloe didn't say anything, instead she just amplified her already face splitting grin into one that practically touched each ear on either side.

The feeling was mutual, by the way. The hurricane of emotions and a whole lot of queasy sensations she got in her stomach in the best way possible way, of course, whenever she was greeted by the redhead. It was like she was permanently stuck on a rollercoaster; a never ending ride full of flutters and spins that made her too dizzy to even focus properly.

Love was never a big thing in her book; she didn't like talking about it, didn't like how the word rolled off her tongue and definitely never pictured herself ever _falling in love_. All the romantic endings in movies were just repeated let downs of something she was positive that was never going to happen in real life.

That was until she met Chloe, and all that seemed to flip itself around in the scariest way possible.

But she enjoyed it, the longer she experienced the feelings it brought along every time she looked at Chloe, held hands with Chloe, and even kissed Chloe, setting off hundreds of fireworks all at one each behind each eyelid.

It was a feeling that can't be beat.

Beca took one more piece of the fruit for herself and offered Chloe some more as they began to walk. Chloe took the offered half of the fruit in a heartbeat, causing her to laugh as she watched the redhead scarf it down whole, perhaps even forgetting to spit out the seeds, which may or may not be concerning.

The last time they ate was back at shore last night and since then, they haven't really been able to sit down, hunt and enjoy some food. With all the fighting off lurkers, losing Aubrey, and mapping their way out of this maze of a forest, eating has been the last thing on their minds.

And since Chloe's diet recently changed from humans to fruit, which she seemed to absolutely _love_ , it made sense why she didn't give herself the time of day to breathe as she practically inhaled the last bit of the fruit in a single swallow.

"Wait until you try pineapple. That shit is literally the best," Beca gushed, her mouth pooling up with salvia by the delicious thought of her favorite fruit and all its sweet juice she had come to miss so much.

Chloe's face lit up at the name, excitement dripping from every pore on her body like she knew the pop quiz answer to a teacher's question in class. "Oh! The yellow, spiky fruit?" she asked enthusiastically, clapping her hands as she waited for confirmation on whether she was right or wrong:

Beca froze on the spot, along with the trail her footsteps were following and she had a gape to her mouth that was no doubt catching the monster bugs flying around them in this rainforest. "You know what a _pineapple_ is, but not a _coconut?_ " Appalled. There was really no other word for it.

"Sorry my resources are a little short in the ocean, Becs!" Chloe giggled at the way Beca was pacing the forest, pinching the bridge of her nose, as if she just got told the most devastating news. She grabbed Beca's nearest wrist when she was close enough, halting her from pacing any longer. "Love me." She wrapped her arms above Beca's shoulders while firm hands found her waist, knotting her fingers together from behind.

Beca's heart melted at the whine in Chloe's tone, especially that puppy dog pout that came along with it. She loved the girl; it was plain and simple. She loved everything about Chloe, whether it came to her luscious red mane, her piercing blue eyes that could hypnotize her by just one glance, her cute little giggle that could cure world hunger. Chloe was a real life walking treasure and it was extremely hard-almost _impossible_ for Beca to wrap her head around the fact that this girl; a stranger not too long ago was _her's_.

For the first time ever and through these brutal days on the beach it was safe to say that she finally found someone worth her love.

And boy did she really, _really_ love this girl.

The smile Chloe was sporting covered majority of her face, but then her eyes fell to Beca's lips, and Beca took the briefest second to wet her own, and that was all she really needed to see until she was closing the distance between them, capturing Chloe's lips in a slow and tender kiss, leaving them both breathless when they broke away.

And Chloe tasted like the vanilla ice-cream fruit she just ate, which only spiked Beca's temptation to grab her by the neck, pull her back in and kiss her until she forgot her own _damn_ name.

" _God,_ I think I love you," Beca whispered breathless above Chloe's lips, her heart racing a mile a minute to the point where she thought it'd come flying out her mouth. Between the violent thudding of her heartbeat pounding inside her ears and how she was a smile away from becoming maniacal, there was no way she was leaving this part of the forest without fainting.

There wasn't a lot of thought process going on as she spilled this confession; she didn't think about the consequences of Chloe realizing what an awkward _idiot_ she was and could no way in Hell be in love with her, nor did she think about how _serious_ their relationship just spiked by with only the usage of a simple, yet not that simple four lettered word.

But all she really knew was how relieved and incredibly light she felt after saying it, not a single ounce of regret going through her head when Chloe pulled her face away, eyes misty, smile as big as ever and all around just looking absolutely _stunning_. By then and catching this one in a million sight, she knew she did the right thing and could only thank her uncontrollably word vomit for once.

_Just this once._

"You do?" And Beca nodded her head so fast, her neck was basically on the verge of snapping off her body by how sure she was in the response. There was really no denying the feeling; something was there that wasn't there before, and it appeared the very second she landed her eyes on Chloe. Since then, the feeling only got stronger and she knew she needed to do, or _say_ something about it before she combusted.

A response to this little outburst didn't come as fast as Beca felt comfortable waiting for; she barely even got a blink from the redhead at the words she just allowed her mouth to spill and was basically the future fate of their entire relationship, but by the way Chloe was staring at her with that same sparkle in her eyes and growing glow to her skin, it eased Beca's worries and any hint of regret she felt creeping up.

"My grandmother once told me that real love is knowing when someone's weaknesses and not taking advantage of them, knowing their flaws and accepting who they are," Finally, Chloe responded and Beca has never been so zeroed in on someone while they spoke in her entire life, but the way Chloe seemed so passionate and how her words flowed so perfectly together, she was positive she could listen to this girl talk for the rest of her life.

"Amore a prima vista," Chloe spoke so clear, her voice hitting a whole new level of low and sexy that Beca has never heard before as she reached up one of her hands to graze the same scar on Beca's head she was acquainted with back at the cave.

Shocked, moonstruck, captivated, _overpowered_ by the language that rolled so easily off Chloe's tongue would all be valid emotions Beca was experiencing, wishing she could hear that saying over, and over, and _over_ again. Chloe's normal, English speaking voice was hard to handle majority of the time, but add a little Italian to the mix and the low timbre Chloe had hidden in her tone while saying this and Beca was so sure she'd never been so close to crumbling under something sounding so _mesmerizing_ a day in her life.

Even though she didn't know what it was exactly that Chloe had just said.

What she did know was that Chloe speaking another language made her body go numb and her mouth go dry.

"I don't know what that means," Beca snorted; the sentence was a challenge to get out with how her tongue all of a sudden felt three sizes too big for her mouth.

Chloe laughed sweetly.

"Remember how I told you my sisters and I lived in Italy before we moved here, to some hidden, deserted island?" The nodding in response to Chloe's question didn't even register to Beca as she was still enamored by the sudden exposed to another one of the mermaid's hidden talents to speak another language. "Well I may know quite the amount of Italian to get by, along with some German, Greek and even some French."

Beca can't stop the whimper from slipping out after hearing all these confessions and she was more than positive that she would be unable to even function correctly if Chloe started rambling in French, knowing just how weak she was towards the language. Luckily, Chloe didn't, but she made a mental note to flip back to this conversation later to be able to witness hearing all these languages when she had a more sturdy base.

She needed all the strength she could get if Chloe was going to go all French and seduce her with the language of _love_.

"It means ' _love at first sight_ ,' as my grandmother would tell me, and **preached** to act upon it if I ever experience such a powerful feeling," Chloe continued, her finger still ghosting over the scar under Beca's hair, right next to her temple bone. Beca sighed contented into the touch, leaning farther in like a kitten getting pet.

"And at the time, I didn't really know what it was exactly I was feeling when I first saw you crash in the ocean that day, but when I saw you again, my grandmother's word repeating in my head like a broken record, I knew for sure that you were going to be the person I loved _forever_."

Beca knew the point where Chloe was headed and even enjoyed all the extra build up to it, but what she really wanted to hear were those three words she has been dying to hear since the confession first slipped from her mouth earlier.

"I love you," And there they were, bringing the exact euphoria and buzzing emotions Beca expected to come along with them, almost swooning her over into the ground. "I love you _so much,_ Beca, that it's kind of hard to breathe when I'm around you," Chloe admitted with a chuckle, her intense look in her eyes and how smooth the words fell from her mouth saying it all, only amplifying Beca's inner giddiness to the confirmation that she loved Chloe and Chloe loved her back. "But it's not scary because I know it's a good type of feeling, one that only people would _dream_ of experiencing."

It was surreal, to be loved by someone else and there to be mutual feelings present. It was even more surreal to be able to come out and admit that she loved Chloe when she has never felt this way about another person like…. _ever_. And it was a terrifying feeling; love was a terrifying fucking word, if she was being completely honest, but nothing about it seemed scary when it was Chloe who she was admitting her love to.

If anything, saying it out loud instead of keeping the words pent up inside made her feel ten times more protected and safe than she did before, knowing just how much Chloe reciprocated the feelings and how she could trust Chloe to keep her heart safe, now that it has been given to someone else to hold.

And she knew for a fact Chloe would never take advantage of it, but instead she'd cherish it for as long as she could.

"I-I.." Beca fumbled over her words, and even scrambled to locate Chloe's hand until Chloe gave mercy on her and linked their fingers together for her, just like she was desperately trying to do. It should've been embarrassing and it would've if it were literally _anyone_ else, but it was Chloe, and Chloe made her feel like she could be awkward, and apparently _unsmooth_ with her moves and it still be perfectly fine, which only backed up how much love she held for the mermaid. "Cool," Was her only response, her words bouncing inside her head like a spontaneous reaction in a Chemistry lab room.

"Totes _cool_ ," Chloe repeated, cheeking so wide it might become permanent, not that Beca cared since Chloe's smile was something she never got tired of seeing and was positive that it will never happen. Figuring that Beca's way with words had become nonexistent, Chloe did the only thing that could make up for lost words and leaned in to kiss Beca so softly, so full of passion and love and electricity and all that other cheesy bullshit that it almost knocked Beca back on her ass.

And Chloe giggled into the slowly intensifying kiss before they got too carried away, causing Beca to giggle with her and it was so _nauseating,_ but still fucking perfect at the same time.

Only after they split apart; Chloe finding the fastest route to connect their hands and get back on track to retrace their steps back to the others Beca mentally face palmed herself at her previous response. Cool? Like she was describing someone's new car, or pair of headphones. _Really Mitchell. You're lucky you still have a girlfriend._

As they're walking hand in hand back to base where the rest of the group was set up, ruffling from under a pile of twigs was heard beside them. Beca paused as a reflex when seeing the movement out of the corner of her eye and pulled Chloe back to pause her footsteps from gravitating any closer to whatever it was hidden underneath. She brushed off the puzzled glance the redhead gave her and detached their combined hands to find a nearby rock to throw in the general area.

Tossing the rock over to the area where the ruffling noises was coming from and once it came in contact when the debris that was on top, a fairly large in size, blackish grey snake came slithering out and it only took about half a second for Bece to squeal like a little girl and basically jump into the arms of her girlfriend's with the only intention to use Chloe as a shield; her badass rep _shattered_.

"What is that?" Chloe seemed unfazed by the snake, unlike Beca who was borderline tears and still hiding behind her girlfriend for protection. Maybe she forgot to mention that similar to sharks, she also had a major fear of snakes, especially _poisonous_ snakes that are gigantic and scary looking. She also had a fear of clowns, heights and confined spaces, but those didn't matter as of now. What did matter was the creepy, reptile thing that was right _flipping_ in front of them, hissing and spitting all the deathly venom directed right at her as targeted from the distance.

"Is that an eel?"

Oh God, how badly Beca wished it was an eel instead of a _goddamn_ snake.

At least with an eel she'd be able to act all macho and not resemble the biggest wuss in the history of wusses right in front of her girlfriend. _Jesus_ , how embarrassing is that? She'll be surprised if she had any brownie points left over once they (Chloe) figured out what to do to avoid experiencing the wrath of the snake and got rid of it as soon as possible.

"And what is an eel doing an land because I for one know with experience that sea creatures can barely last more than a couple minutes on land-well, not as of now because I'm human... _humanish_?" Chloe rambled with a snicker as she continued playing along her eel theory when it definitely wasn't what she thought it was and in fact, way worse.

"Chlo, that's definitely _not_ an eel," Beca clarified from over Chloe's shoulder where she still happened to be using the girl as a shield, her body trembling in fear the longer she stared into those nasty yellow eyes and impressively sized fangs with her name written over each one. "It's a Gaboon viper, which happen to be _extremely_ poisonous and _extremely_ fast."

Only adding to the vicious profile the snake already had created for itself, the reptile threw a nasty hiss full of venom their way, about ready to charge them with its sharp fangs exposed. Beca's hands tighten at the sight from where she was gripping at Chloe's hip, desperately trying to brainstorm an escape route before one of them gets bitten. For once, she wished her National Geographic knowledge was wrong and they were perfectly safe and not in danger at all.

But by the look of it and those continuous, nasty hissing sounds, they were running out of time and running out of time fast.

"Chloe, we need to get out of here," she whispered for no apparent reason into Chloe's ear thanks to the position she was in. Did she think the snake could possibly hear her if she spoke too loud? She didn't honestly know. Maybe he had powers, too and could've heard and foiled their plans to sneak away. Who knows. "I think our best option is to run that-"

Mid way through her explanation, the same snake who was feet away from them suddenly disintegrated into a big ball of fire that soon revealed nothing underneath, especially in the area where a deadly snake just was and now was nowhere in sight. Beca assumed she hallucinated the entire thing, her high levels of fear becoming too hard for her body to cope. However, as she blinked repeatedly to test her assumption, the snake never reappeared.

With nothing to be scared of anymore and making sure that the snake was actually gone, Beca peeled herself off of Chloe with an impressed grin on her face at the sight she just witnessed with no one else here to point fingers at except for the redhead.

"Look at you getting mean and using your powers to protect us, Ms. _-I'm-Always-Happy,_ " she teased with a light laugh and nudged the back of Chloe's shoulder before walking around to be face to face with her little fire bender. What she expected from Chloe was a victorious glint to her eyes after doing something on her very own to protect them from something so dangerous.

What she wasn't expecting were the _tears_.

And _my God_ there were so many tears streaming from the redhead's face for a reason she wasn't too sure of, but the sight alone, the quiver in Chloe's lip, the tears streaming down her flushed cheeks was incredibly hard to watch.

"Babe, why are you crying?" Beca made no hesitation to confront Chloe in her arms, still greatly confused as to why she was crying over something so refreshing. Unless, however, she was crying tears of joy, which didn't really add up to be a Chloe thing to do. But then again, Chloe is Chloe, who has a heart made of puppies, cotton candy and everything else in the world that was ridiculously sweet.

"He didn't deserve that," Chloe admitted through the waterworks she was producing, latching onto Beca like her life depended on it. Beca, for her part, tucked her lips that were daring to curve up into a smile beneath her contorting mouth, trying to hide the laughing she desperately wanted to explode with. What on earth has she done to be gifted with the most caring, cutest living thing that has ever walked the planet?

Once someone figured it out, could you let her know, because it was still a mystery as to how she ended up with such a treasure like Chloe. Sure, the mermaid could almost rip a innocent, tiny little monkey's head off its body, but _God forbid it be a goddamn snake._

Chloe was something extraordinary.

Too exceptional.

Too pure for this world.

"Chlo, you did the right thing-that snake was _extremely_ dangerous. Did you see it's fangs? I mean, it's nothing compared to yours but still," Beca gloated as she rubbed comforting circles over Chloe's back, fighting back another smile when she was earned a watery sequence of just incomprehensible noises that Chloe couldn't form into real words due to the amount of crying. "Without you killing that thing, it could've killed us, no doubt about it, so _please_ don't cry."

Beca smacked a palm over her face when Chloe cried harder at the image of _her_ possibly getting killed by the snake, hitting yet another soft spot in her girlfriend that erupted a whole new wave of fresh tears. She bit back the smiles and broke away from the tight hold Chloe had around her shoulders, " _aweing_ " at Chloe when the tears rolled down her cheeks. She tried to act sympathetic about the situation, but she knew the harm the snake could've done to either of them and the thought of it injuring Chloe only lit a fire inside her stomach and made her elated about its presence being disintegrated through thin air.

All its creepy yellow eyes and tiny little rhino horn it had on its nose, _yuck._ Just the visual image of the snake brought back an unpleasant shiver.

Wiping away the wetness from the stream of tears rolling down her cheeks with the pads of her thumbs, Beca reconnected their hands and made a step forward in the same direction they were headed in before they got distracted, retracing their steps back to base."Come on you dork. Let's get you back before you make me cry."

Chloe agreed to this with a few sniffles, clinging to Beca's body as they walked for dear life, but stopped a few steps in, mentioning to Beca how she thought she had to pee.

"Seriously?" Beca asked, deadpanned face joined by several, heavy blinks and at Chloe's rapid nodding and even cup to her private area, she busted out with a loud laugh, ushering Chloe over to a space in the forest for some privacy to relive herself.

And really, there was no limit to the amount of love Beca had in her body for this girl because simply, the limit did not exist.

* * *

After quite the hike around the forest, the group managed to make their way out to shore, but not exactly where the mermaids' home was. Somehow, Stacie was able to find a shortcut out to the beach while she roamed alone and everyone was glad she was able to find an opening leading back to shore because it was getting harder and harder to breathe from the thick layer of humidity covering their senses.

Thankful for the fresh air and pleasant familiarity of the salt water aroma the wind blew around in every direction, they all took turns washing off in the ocean's water. Majority of their bodies were covered in dirt, sweat, blood and other disgusting things to be living in, so rinsing off all the junk was more than much needed. At least by then once they scrubbed down to the bones they'd be more comfortable.

At shore, Beca was sitting in the sand closer to the water, allowing the chill to wash over her feet when the waves rolled along as she watched sun descend in the distance, lighting the entire beach with a peachy glow. The view didn't even come close to the view back at the mermaids' home, but it was a nice alternative and definitely something worth the time to sit down and admire the beauty of it all.

For the most part she was sitting alone, everyone else was busy in the water getting cleaned; Jesse and Luke used the time to hunt for fish and Stacie took some time to herself and swam out a good distance away from shore, enjoying some time by herself and her tail. Eventually, she was joined by a newly rinsed off Chloe, who immediately eliminated any distance caught between the two of them as she plopped down on the sand and molded her body to Beca's, making a nice, comfortable spot for her head on the space over Beca's shoulder.

Beca smiled warmly at the unannounced company-though she enjoyed her space and alone time away from everyone else, she enjoyed hanging out with Chloe, holding the girl in her arms even more. She hummed contently, taking turns to soak in the sunset, but also the girl wrapped beneath her arms, as well.

She absentmindedly combed her fingers through Chloe's wet hair and rolled her eyes to the sky when she stopped due to her hand getting tired, but Chloe not being satisfied, blindly searched the sand for her missing hand with a few childlike huffs, finding it after minimal struggle and placed it back on her hair for Beca to resume her motions.

After some countable silence, "I brought you a starfish," Chloe spoke all of a sudden, her voice almost childlike as she lifted up the gift she brought from who knows where. "I know it's not as ' _cute_ ' as the monkey..." She used air quotes, still as stubborn as ever when declining the truth about how _stinking_ cute that monkey was back in the forest and it made Beca laugh. "But this one is pretty cool."

Beca couldn't argue with this as she took the starfish from Chloe's hand and examined its nine arms circling around the thick disk of its body instead of the usual five she was most familiar with. Rotating the starfish, she took a look at every spot, used her fingers to graze over the tough, spiky skin on top. Cool would be an understatement as she has never seen anything like this one before.

"It's a millipede starfish. Nicest of the bunch, in my opinion," Chloe giggled, using her fingers to pinch at one of the arms on the starfish. "There's roughly two thousand of them all around the world, but this type is my favorite, probably because they're so different from all the other types of starfishes."

"They're _unique_ ," Beca added, studying the starfish even deeper and couldn't help but relate it to the mermaid. They both were so different from the rest of their species; Chloe was a mixture between fish and a gorgeous human being, but yet she was the most exceptional out of everything Beca has ever been greeted with. "Did you give me this because you want me to eat it?"

Chloe's mouth dropped open with a loud gasp, yanking the starfish out of Beca's hand. "Absolutely not!" Beca howled a laugh as she watched Chloe return the starfish back out to the water before the tides pulled it in deeper.

At Chloe's pout, Beca ushered her back over with her hands, admitting to Chloe that she was simply joking around. The rumors about eating starfish haven't been the most _appealing_ , and even if they were, she didn't plan on breaking a tooth while she munched on coral basically.

"You're absolutely _incorrigible_ ," Chloe tried hard to be stern with her words, but hiding a smile was never something she was really good at, and it showed when her lips squeezed together, battling off an upcoming smile.

"And you're absolutely _beautiful_ ," Beca retorted, arms still raised up and missing the last bit of filling they need.

Chloe gave in with the same smile she had been trying to keep in, walking her way back up into Beca's arms that were being held out for her, until Beca's body visibly tensed like a statue. However, before Beca could even process what happened, her insides froze, literally, as she sunk into the sand motionless, unable to move and barely even able to blink properly.

It took about half a second for Chloe to come sprinting up to her rescue, screaming if she was okay, but no matter how hard she tried to speak, nothing would come out. It felt like her lungs were frozen solid and she just swallow half a gallon of the arctic slushes she'd get at the gas station after a day of surfing. The pain was unbearable, like a permanent chest freeze that she couldn't get rid of, no matter how hard she tried and it was _excruciating_.

The longer it lasted of experiencing this pain, she noticed her skin turning pale, almost a veiny purple color she'd get in her legs when her skin was too cold. All the hair was sticking up on her body, from her ankles up to her head while goosebumps covered all the exposed skin present. She felt her lips going numb and wouldn't be surprised if they matched the same color as a bruise.

Chloe was already transformed into her defensive side, fangs exposed and eyes milky, scanning the ocean and whoever it may be causing Beca's insides to turn into a breathing popsicle. Not finding anybody in sight, Chloe used her powers to heat up the shallow end of the ocean before carrying Beca out bridal style until she was fully submerged in the water.

Slowly, after the painful, needle like shocks she felt throughout her entire body, Beca finally regained some sensation in her toes, then in her legs, and finally she was able to breathe properly without feeling the harsh grinding from the ice blocks her lungs transformed into as they scrapped aggressively her ribcage. Lips chattering and her whole body shivering as Chloe tried her best to warm up every inch of skin on Beca's body, Jesse and Luke run up to the scene, winded, spears pointed in every direction, ready to attack the lurkers who happened to find their base.

But what they all didn't know was that there was no lurkers in sight, far from them, actually.

Instead, Luke spotted a lone head peeking out from the water in the distance, causing Chloe to retract her fangs and stand up to her feet to get a better look at the girl. Beca, as she tried to catch her breath back, watched how the redhead examined the random girl from the edge of where the water ended, not wanting her tail to grow just yet by fully submerging her legs.

"Emily?" Chloe called out suspiciously, her voice layered with a gentle tone. "Emily, is that you?"

Beca, Luke and Jesse all watched Chloe call out to the girl, confusion hitting an all time high. Who was this mysterious girl floating deathly still out in the ocean and why did it seem like her and Chloe had some sort of bond, like they knew each other on a personal level? Beca attempted to call Chloe back, not wanting to chance her girlfriend getting injured by whatever it was floating out there, but her lungs were tired as they were still in the process of defrosting themselves and couldn't speak loud enough from her to hear.

Cautiously, the brown haired girl floated her way into where Chloe was calling for her; Jesse and Luke tensed seeing the girl come closer, unsure if this girl was to be trusted or if she wasn't dangerous. "Chloe?" The girl croaked, innocent and sweet as she gravitated closer and Beca caught a twitch in Chloe's lip before it twisted into a large forming grin and she was already waist deep in the water to meet the girl half way.

Once the girl realized it was Chloe who was calling her name, her grin quickly stretched to match the redhead's and she was swimming in fast, enveloping the redhead in a tight hug, leaving the rest of the group to question what exactly was going on.

"What are you doing here?!" Chloe exclaimed into the neck of the brunette girl, tail now fully grown when her swim bottoms float up to the top of the water as she twirled the both of them around in the ocean. The cute moment didn't last for long until Chloe switched back into her stern, authoritative alter ego, breaking away from the hug with a pointed finger. "You shouldn't be here, Em! It's _dangerous_ and you could get hurt!"

Emily, Beca took it as the name of the mystery girl, lowered her head as she is scowled by Chloe, their chemistry reminding her of a mother daughter bond, or an older sister lecturing her younger, which was just an all around strange image to see and would really appreciate it if someone could tell her what was going on.

"I know….I-I just.. I heard about the curse being broken, and the lurkers and how all of you were being hunted," Emily's rambles trailed off as she continued to keep her gaze towards the water, low and away from Chloe's strict stare. "I don't know what I would do if you three ended up getting hurt, so I had to come and at least _try_ to help."

Chloe's eyes flashed to a much softer stare, and Beca, for her part, had enough of being out of the loop and decided to stand up from the water once she had most feeling back in her legs and feet. As she stumbled to stand, her balance still kind of rocky, Chloe swam back up to shore to help, crawling her way up the sand to expose her glimmering tail out in the open as she offered a hand to Beca for balancing purposes.

"Em, come over here!" Chloe hollered out to where Emily was floating much closer to the group, but still quite a bit aways. Obeying the orders, Emily swam up to join the group, but not without narrow eyes from Beca as she caught something else in the water following right behind.

Similar to Chloe's, Stacie's and even Aubrey's, this new girl had a tail connected to her torso; a dark, bronze, golden color to match the hazel in the girl's eyes and _Jesus_ , she was just as perfect as the rest of the mermaids.

"Another one!?" Jesse screeched, stealing the words right out from Beca's thought process. Really, how many more mythical creatures were they going to run into during this journey?

"This is Emily! She's our youngest sister of our bunch," Chloe clarified with a beaming grin towards all visible parties; Emily continued to hide her head timidly, and Beca couldn't help but admit that this mermaid was the prime definition of baby cute adorable. Seriously, all she wanted to do was protect Emily from all the evil in the world and yet she hasn't even been properly introduced to her.

Beca sent a brief wave to the brunette when they locked eyes, afraid by saying anything else will scare the girl away as it looks like she's the type to be scared of her own shadow.

"Emily this is Beca, my girlfriend!" Chloe introduced the two of them, pride dripping at the label when she referred to Beca as her girlfriend. The feeling is mutual when Beca says she'll never get sick of the name. More often than not, she wondered when the label would become natural to her, and not make it feel like a mini heart attack every time they referred to each other as girlfriends.

"I'm sorry." Instead of the usual greeting, Emily started apologizing, profusely as it looked like she was seconds away from crying. "I'm so, so sorry! I-I didn't mean to hurt you-are you hurt now? Oh my stars, you're hurt aren't you?!"

Beca blinked dumbly at the frantic behavior and near panic attack given off by the mermaid. Good God, Emily was an exact replica of Chloe and all her cuteness that came with her times like...a _million_. Oh my stars? Really? Who even says that? That's right. Adorable freaking people, that's who.

Beca gave Chloe a nervous chuckle and a glance that screamed she had no idea how to handle the situation, nor did she know what Emily was exactly apologizing for. Yeah, she just experienced the second worst pain she has ever felt inside her body, but they were just introduced seconds ago, so that gave Emily _zero_ time to be the culprit behind the pain.

And it was more than a little hard to believe that someone as cute and smol as Emily would be behind injuring someone.

Girl looked as if she couldn't harm a fly.

"Since Emily is our younger sister and she was able to pick up some of our abilities when we lived in the kingdom, she was lucky enough to absorb some of Stacie's genes," Chloe explained some more, slowly filling in the blanks to the puzzle. "Unfortunately, that pain you felt earlier, the one where you felt your insides freezing, sadly, that was Emily."

Oh.

Well that made sense since experiencing Stacie's wrath and powers was hands down the worst pain she has ever experienced, and feeling it again moments ago only made sense for it to come from Emily, who supposedly was a miniature Stacie.

"She has the ability to any form of liquid, whether it's present or hidden within something into ice, and she's most powerful for turning the insides of someone living, using their blood and other internal liquids into ice, as well." Beca nodded her head listening to more information told about Emily from Chloe. It was crazy stuff to hear, just like the first time she discovered Chloe's powers, but it was also fascinating how the mermaids are able to adapt certain qualities from each other, and somehow bond together in the littlest ways.

Technically, Emily was blood related to Stacie, which made them the most connected as sisters compared to Chloe and Aubrey.

How interesting is that?

With confirmation it was Emily delivering the icy pain to Beca's organs, the quiver in her lip and tears pooling over her already glossy eyes became more and more apparent. No doubt was her powers she picked up from Stacie nothing to be messed around with, but Emily so _totally_ picked up the sweet as sugar qualities Chloe was filled with. She practically shined with friendliest, which made it impossibly hard to believe that she's the one who caused the earlier pain Beca felt and hoped to not endure ever again.

"It's all good," Beca said nervously, rubbing a hand at the back of her neck once seeing that Emily was brimming a waterworks show. She didn't know if she would be able to handle a crying Emily if a crying Chloe was a sight she wanted to avoid at all costs. "You didn't know...or like, whatever."

Taking this as forgiveness, Emily cheeked a wide, toothy grin, reaching out a hand to shake Beca's eagerly. Grabbing a hold of the surprisingly soft and wrinkle free hand with only minimal wetness from the water, "it's so nice to meet you! A human, an actual _human_ , " Emily gushed, exploding with disbelief and studying every little thing there was about Beca's appearance.

It seemed like she was kept in a pretty tight cage back in the kingdom, unlike Chloe and her sisters who have been interacting ( _killing_ ) humans for quite some time now, which only made Emily more delightful, like an overly friendly puppy dog who might pee itself from excitement.

"As you can tell by the large, sparkling floating thing connected to my body, I'm a _mermaid_ ," Emily announced nonchalantly with a shrug, as if nobody picked up this _not-so-little_ observation already.

" _Only_ a mermaid, who never was created to kill, but as for her voice, she has a killer one," Chloe chipped in, beaming a smile at Emily who nodded her head with pride at the compliment.

"Is she still able to lure people in like you three, since she has a voice but isn't really considered a siren?" Luke asked curiously, setting down his spear to soon get comfortable in the sand now that any threat from before was long gone.

"Not to the ability that Stacie, Aubrey and I can, but she can definitely reel in some listeners."

"Yeah I'm like...no where near as good as my sisters are. They have voices to die for," It was Emily's turn to give her compliments and all Beca could think to herself was, ' _ain't that the truth.'_

" _Literally_ ," Beca muttered under her voice and surprisingly only Chloe was able to catch it, which earned her an eye roll and shove to one of her shoulders. Chloe's voice was luring, for sure, but there was so much more about its raw, melodic beauty that she couldn't fully comprehend a sound so rare actually existing.

"So no mouthful of fangs? Scary white eyes?" Emily shook her head 'no' to Luke's answer as him and Jesse both simultaneously wiped their foreheads with relief.

"Okay, we need to adopt her into the gang," Jesse quipped, his dorky, lopsided smile back in action. Beca rolled her eyes as Luke quickly agreed to this, calling them exact clones like the Avengers, or the Power Rangers. Never ever ever ever ever ever ever **ever** will she be grouped in and referred to as a clan of superheroes.

That's screamed dorky and totally not _badass_.

"Wait, you said _girlfriend_ , right?" Emily spoke up in memory, directing the clarification to Chloe who nodded erratically, exposing her lovestruck, inner school girl. "Like the type of girlfriend you _love_ and kiss and stuff?" Again, Chloe nodded until her head almost flew off, hooking an arm behind Beca's lower back and leaned her head against her shoulder for support and extra clarification.

With this, Emily squealed one of the girliest noisiest in the history book of girly, obnoxious noises and her eyes stretch as wide as saucers as she encouraged Chloe to fill her in on all the juicy details about how dating came about, interest reaching an all time high. For the most part while Chloe started from the beginning as to how they met and " _happily fell in love,_ " Beca hid her face in attempt to hide her embarrassment, which brought along a profuse amount of blushing-way more than she felt comfortable showing to everyone and even sitting in her own skin.

She ignored the teasing coming from Jesse and Luke; all the kissy faces and sounds they were throwing at her when Chloe finished telling Emily their short, yet surprisingly long and very detailed story. In all honesty, she couldn't help but feel warm at the story and how theoretical Chloe made it seem with all the dramatic hand motions when she explained the cave, the fire where they had their first kiss, her first tears ever shed, the swimming with a shark, Bruce, (who was a close friend to Emily and earned a massive ' _awe_ ' at the story) and even the delicious brown balls they discovered that Beca really wished Chloe stopped referring to them as and prayed she'd find another name for them.

And even though Beca wasn't visibly showing how happy she truly was to be able to call Chloe the love of her life, she sure as Hell felt the happiness erupting in her like Mt. Rushmore.

Ecstatic would be a better feeling to use, but she had a rep to uphold and couldn't turn soft. But the longer she fought in the smile, the harder it was to contain these hurricane of emotions she felt towards the redhead.

She hated to admit it out loud, but Chloe has changed her for the best.

"When did you know?" Emily said in all curiousness, hooked to every detail about how they fell in love. " _How_ did you know?"

"I felt extremely nauseous," Chloe admitted with a light hearted chuckle, causing everyone around the group to join in laughing, as well. Beca only admired intently, not daring to break her stare away from Chloe as the girl spoke so lovingly about her. It might be the dorkier thing she has ever said, but _dear lord_ , she felt like she was falling in love all over again. "Like I ate some bad oysters."

Beca absentmindedly grabbed Chloe's nearest hand, lacing their fingers together as the two sisters caught up on everything that has happened to far, totally reenacting a high school scene at a coffee shop where all they did was gossip like a bunch of teenagers.

"Em, are you okay down there?"

A sudden voice appeared from behind the group, startling them half to death with yet another presence added to the mix. For a hidden island in the middle of nowhere, there seemed to be quite the population of people and things living here.

Or so they all thought before turning around, unprepared to be greeted with a pair of familiar, emerald green eyes, long, lighter blonde hair and realized that this new guest to the scene was also someone who wasn't all that _new_ to them.

Beca felt Chloe's breathing hitch and her whole body tense up as they all watched the blonde limp across the sand, holding a collection of logs and twigs before dropping every single one into the sand, mouth falling down with them. She didn't know if it was because of this ghost they were all staring at it or because that the same ghost was missing the rest of her left leg from the knee down, and the only thing keeping her upright was a long, thick looking branch of some sort that took place as a cane.

"Aubrey?" Chloe was the first to say something, shaky and disbelievingly, and it sounded absolutely _nuts_.

They all witnessed Aubrey ending her life back at the other side of the beach as she locked herself under water and created a sheet of ice to hold in the lurkers until she was physically incapable of holding them off any longer. They all endured the the heavy pain in their hearts and all the crying right after once they realized Aubrey was gone and gone forever.

Of course, they didn't know for sure and kept a positive, optimistic thought that Aubrey could possibly still be alive, but it was hard to keep thinking that way when the inevitable was right in front of them when they visually _watched_ her descend into the ocean and never came back out.

And maybe every single one of them was hallucinating right now as their eyes were fixated on the blonde from afar, focused _hard_ on the bottom side of her knee that was wrapped in a cloth, already showing a dark maroon color of blood that shadowed from beneath the white, and dripped off into the sand where the other half of a leg once was because Aubrey _died_ back at the beach.

She died and everyone _hated_ to keep trying to convince themselves that she was coming back because it hurt to much.

But this?

This was visible proof that Aubrey was here-not perfectly okay like the last time they saw her, physically she looked a little rough, but other than that major chunk missing, she was _alive_ and right in front of them, a good couple feet away.

"Hey, are you guys ok... _Emily_? What are you doing-" Stacie's presence came up next as she swam up to shore, confusion laced in her tone once landing her eyes on a familiar, added guest to the group, but her words fell short once her eyes focused on another person in specific; the one person who has suddenly attracted everyone's attention and that same person who she thought she'd never be able to see again.

"Aubrey?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh snap (Raven's Voice)
> 
> Review what you think happens next!
> 
> Tumblr: omACAgee!

**Author's Note:**

> Well that was Chapter 1! Pretty much just a setting up the plot type of chapter but the outline for this story I have written is bezerk. Also the song was called 'My Jolly Sailor Bold" used in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. Very beautiful song that gives a creepy ass vibe ;)  
> I hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave some reviews and ideas you have for the story.  
> Till next time xoxox


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